Mass Effect: Pathways
by TheWerdna
Summary: Twenty-four years have passed since the Reaper War, and now Ria'Shepard, the adopted daughter of Shepard and Tali, sets off for her pilgrimage. Meanwhile a old enemy reemerges, forcing Shepard to take on his first Spectre assignment in five years to stop them. As both become embroiled in a conflict to control a ancient weapon, can either Shepard hope to save the galaxy once more.
1. Chapter 1: A New Journey

***Author's note***

This is my first attempt at writing fan fiction, so any reviews, suggestions, comments, or other feedback is greatly appreciated.

I came about writing this story initially as a result of the endings for Mass Effect 3. Like many others I was disappointed with the endings, and began writing my own endings to give myself some closure and to help get over my own depression regarding the end of the series. However, given the very large number of alternative endings also made at this time, and due to my ending not being all that different from what others have made, I decided against publishing it.

Even though I decided to not do anything with my alternate ending, I began thinking about what would happen after, what events or stories could take place years after the events of Mass Effect 3. Idea for a story began to from in my mind, idea which eventually became the story I will now try to tell/

This story take place after the alternate ending I have previously thought up. While I do plan to eventually go back, finish, and publish my alternate ending, the details of which are unimportant and largely irrelevant for this story save that the Mass Relays were not destroyed and the Reapers were defeated in a different manner then the three choices given in the ending (thought the crucible did exist, as did the starchild). Well, enough rambling, lets begin this thing. Revival

Quarian language and cultural elements have been borrowed heavily from Calinstel's _To Survive_ Series and Tairis Deamhan's _Razor's Edge_ Series, so all credit for these elements goes to them.

* * *

Light from the setting sun streamed in through the window, dancing and shifting along the ceiling as it reflected off the sparkling sea. The room was quite save the rhythmic sounds of fists striking a punching bag. John Shepard, first human Spectre, savior of the Citadel and the galaxy (along with a host of other titles he cared not to remember), lashed out in one last rapid flurry of punches, ending in a kick that sent the punching bag swinging violently. Panting, he stepped back, wiping the sweat from his brow as he slowed his breathing. After his breathing had calmed to a normal rate Shepard pull on a a gray T-shirt as he stepped outside.

The Spectre felt himself grinn as he gazed over Rannoch, a planet he himself had played a role in regaining. It had been twenty-three years since the then alliance Commander had helped broker peace between the geth and the quarians, twenty-four years since he had made his promise to build Tali a house on this very planet. _Twenty-four years, so much as changed since then_ Shepard mused with a chuckle, glancing at his reflection in a window. _F__unny, despite all that's changed I apparently have not, at-least physically._ As a result of the extensive cybernetic augmentations he had received courtesy of Cerberus his appearance differed little from it had then, showing little evidence of the years that had gone by.

Tearing his gaze away from the setting sun, Shepard made his way towards the small, one-room workshop that stood adjacent to the house. The sound of machinery and tools buzzing cried out periodically from the building. Shepard paused in from of the door, waiting for the noise to resume before sliding it open and slipping inside.

A quarian in a purple exosuit (Despite no longer needing the suits while on Rannoch, most quarians still wore their suits out of tradition) stood over a workbench, tinkering with some unrecognizable (at-least to the Spectre) piece of machinery. So absorbed by her work, she did not notice him as he approached. Smiling Shepard moved to stand behind her, waiting until she set down the tool she was using before throwing his arms around her.

"Wha? John!" Tali'Shepard vas Rannoch exclaimed, her voice somewhere between surprise and laughter "How many times have I told you not to sneak up on me like that."

"Too many for me to count" Shepard grinned, planting a kiss on the forehead of her helmet. "Its just hard to resist, your reaction is always so cute."

"Bosh'tet," Tali muttered, shaking her head as she returned to look over her work.

"You have been working in in here all day now, so are you doing to tell me whats bothering you?"

"What!" Tali turned to face the spectre, her raised eyebrows almost visible through her mask.

"Come on, we both know you only spend the whole day holed up in here when you are trying not to worry about something."

"Well..." Tali started, her hands fidgeting with each other as she spoke. "Its just with Ria's Pilgrimage starting in a few days I can't stop worrying."

"Ahh"

"Quit it, I told you that you sound like a vorcha when you do that: and what, are you not worried?"

"Of course I am, but Ria can handle herself. Besides, I remember you telling me practically all Quarians return from their Pilgrimage."

"I know, but what if something..."

"Ria is smart, brave, and resourceful; just like a certain other quarian I met while she was her pilgrimage," Shepard assured, taking Tali's hand in his

"But she had to be saved by a dashing Commander and got wrapped up in several impossible missions. It does not exactly inspire confidence in our daughters safety if she is anything like **her**." Tali countered, though the worry was clearly gone from her voice, replaced by a slight flirtatious tone."

"I better tell her stay away from "dashing Commanders" then," Shepard laughed.

"You still going with your plan for her Pilgrimage gift?"

"Yep," Shepard grinned. "Should be useful if she is going to be in as much mortal danger as you think she will be."

"Bosh'tet. Remember to let me look over it before you give it to her. Might need a few repairs."

"Understood, Miss vas Rannoch," Shepard replied, kissing the top of the quarian's helmet once more. "She'll be fine, trust me."

"I know... well I better get back to work. This power converter isn't going to fix itself."

_Ah, so that's what it is_. Smiling once more Shepard exited to workshop, heading back down the path leading to the house. He had almost reached the house before he saw someone sitting at the edge of cliff overlooking the sea appearing to be working on something that sat in her lap. Her exosuit was black and gray, under a deep forest green _Realk_ and other decorative cloth; with silver metal decorating her neck and wrists among other areas of her suit.

Shepard smiled as he watched his adopted daughter work. He had been telling the truth when he said she reminded him of Tali. _She's smart, kind, and talented; but also brave, resourceful, and tough when she needs to be. She will be fine, no matter what she faces on her Pilgrimage_. He chuckled as another thought came to mind, _Tali isn't the only one Ria has taken after, when she sets her mind to something she possesses a level of determination and pig-headed stubbornness rarely seen. Can't imagine where that comes from. _With a moment of consideration Shepard moved to where Rai was sitting, dropping to sit next to her.

"Hey" Ria said in acknowledgment even as she continued to work.

"Hey kiddo, what are you working on?"

"Upgrading Tikkun's energy cells should double the duration he can stay active" Ria replied, referring to her combat drone. "I want to make sure he is a upgraded as he can be, in case I need him on my Pilgrimage"

"Have I ever told you how cute it is that you named your drone after the planet's sun?"

"Hey, I was seven when mom helped me build him." Ria replied defensively, making some final adjustments before setting the micro-tool she was holding down. "Besides, Tikkun is a good name"

"How are you feeling? Nervous? Excited?"

Ria did not say anything initially, silent as he brought her hand up to shoulder level, the now finished drone sitting in her palm. "A bit a both actually," she finally said with a wave of her omni-tool. The gold and white drone flared to life, hovering a few inches above her hand.

"Part of me can't wait to go out on my own, see the world and have adventures like you and mom did."

Shepard nodded at her words, as the two both looked out over the sea.

The young quarian sighed, deactivating the drone before she continued. "But another part of me is afraid; afraid that I can't possibly live up to the example Mom set when she went on her pilgrimage. What if I don't bring back something important? I know its not really necessary anymore and that the whole thing is done out of tradition, but..."

"But you are my daughter. There is no one more prepared or..."

"Or capable to succeed on my Pilgrimage," Ria interrupted with a laugh. "Honestly, Dad. Your motivational speeches are getting a bit predictable."

"Predictable? Ha, you should have heard motivational material the bootleg VI version of me had; made what I just said a work of poetry by comparison" Shepard replied, joining her laughter with his own. The two laughed and joked as Shepard told his story, before moving on to other tales of his adventures, talking until long after the sun sunk bellow the horizon.

**. . . . . **

_Three days later..._

Ria fought against the urge to fidget nervously as she stood before the other members of her community, the settlement's _Hesh'alan _reciting the traditional ceremony that marks the start of a young quarian's Pilgrimage. _Quit acting so nervous_, she scolded herself. _Everyone is watching you, don't make a fool of yourself._

"Ria'Shepard nar Rannoch, do you swear to wander the stars and empty night, never to falter or cease until you have completed your task."

So focused on masking her apprehension, Ria almost missed her cue to speak. "I solemnly swear to wander the stars far from home, only to return with a once my task is done and I can prove my value to our people."

"Then may the ancestors watch over you on your journey, Ria'Shepard. Keelah Se'lai."

Stepping down from the podium, Ria began the arduous task of fighting her way through the crowd of neighbors and acquaintance giving her variations of words of encouragement or wishes of good luck. After what seemed like centuries of exchanging polite words to people of various familiarity, Ria finally made it over to where here father and mother stood at the back of the procession.

As she squirmed to break free from the hug her mother crushed her in, Ria felt her father rest a hand on her shoulder. "Don't worry, you did fine. I don't think anyone else noticed how nervous you were."

"I... you could tell?"

"I am your father, and thus know you well enough to tell when you are trying to act calm. You tend to stand completely still and tense, like you were turned to stone or something," her father laughed. "But as I said, you did fine. We are all proud of you, family, friends, all of us will be here for you even while you are off exploring the galaxy."

There was a beep as the Spectre's omni-tool flashed. "Speaking of friends that would be Garrus. He was watching from a vid-stream and probably wants to congratulate you personally."

Stepping aside Ria activated her omni-tool as Shepard transferred the incoming call to her. "Uncle Garrus" Ria said in greeting as a screen appeared, displaying the face or her parent's old friend.

"Hey kid. Congratulations on beginning your Pilgrimage. So, I guess this is the part where I would say it went well, huh. But as I have never witnessed the ceremony before, I can only assume you did fine. You could have screwed the whole thing up for all I know... don't tell your mother I said that."

"Don't worry Garrus , I will make sure you don't suffer death by a shotgun wielding quarian," Ria chuckled.

"Good to see someone looks out for my well being, your father would probably just sit there and watch."

"Is Tarran there?" Ria asked, referring to Garrus's son.

"He is busy working, C-sec unfortunately wouldn't let him take time off to be here. He did however help me pick out the gift we sent you, and said he will be happy to see you should you come to the Citadel on your Pilgrimage"

"Thank you, I am sure he would be here if he could"

"Well, I better let you go, don't want to keep you here talking all night. See you around kid."

"See you Garrus" Ria said as she ended the call, walking back over to where her parents stood.

Her father nodded at her as she approached. "Now that you have spoken to Garrus we can move on to the most important part of any celebration, the gifts!" Her father grinned, a smile that was cut short as her mother elbowed him hard in the ribs. Rubbing his side he continued"Well, if I can speak without your mother hurting me in response to a joke, I would tell you that besides her, myself and Garrus; you also received gifts from Liara, Kasumi, and your grandmother."

Opening the the gifts meant to both celebrate her 22ed birthday and to aid her in her Pilgrimage, Ria made sure to keep a careful tally of who to thank when she had the change. From Garrus and Tarran she got a brand-new model of a Phalanx pistol. From Liara a micro-OSD that can be easily concealed and doubled as a tracking device. From Kasumi a hacking and bypass module for her omni-tool. From her grandmother, the now retired Admiral Hanna Shepard, she received a military-grade kinetic barrier generator. From her mother she got a new and heavily upgraded and modified (her own additions no doubt) nexus omni-tool.

Setting the gifts aside she picked up the last gift, which was concealed in a simple brown box. "Sorry, I didn't have time to wrap it." Ria nearly jumped as her father spoke from where he stood behind her.

"No, its fine." Ria said as she opened the box. Looking inside she found a well-worn Vindicator assault rifle, evidence of extensive repairs and modifications apparent even at a glance. Despite its obvious age the weapon was in beautiful condition from a functionality standpoint, its numerous upgrades and modifications attesting to its effectiveness were it to be used.

"But this... this is..." Ria said faintly, surprise clear in her voice.

"Is my old rifle, same one I used throughout my fight with the collectors and in the Reaper War." Shepard replied, finishing her statement.

"Your really giving it to me?" she asked, still a bit shocked.

"Of course. That gun served me well throughout more danger and life or death battles then I can count. I feel safer knowing that you will have it with you. I know, sentimental and all, but..."

Whatever he was going to say was cut off as Ria embraced him. "Thank you. It means a lot. I promise to keep it safe." Ria said, blinking back tears.

She felt him return her embrace as he replied "I just want you to promise me something in return. I am not foolish enough to ask you to stay out of trouble, I would have better luck asking a krogen to become a pacifist. Instead I just want you to promise me you won't do anything too risky."

"I promise"

* * *

**Glossary**

**Hesh'alan:** Once referred to the captain of a ship in the Migrant Fleet, this title is now is given to the leader of any given city or settlement on Rannoch. Literal translation is "guide of my life".

**Realk**: The traditional decorative-cloth hood Quarians wear over their suits.


	2. Chapter 2: A Threat On The Horizon

_Date: 4/9/2210_

Ria sighed as she tossed aside the fried circuit-board. After picking through the possible replacements she had salvaged from the small outpost's trash depot, the quarian returned to fixing the badly damaged communication relay.

Three weeks had passed since Ria had begun her Pilgrimage, during which she had set out to visit the various places that she had heard about in stories of her parents' adventures. Her first stop had been to Heastrom, due to its location within quarian space.

Her visit had had been more or less uneventful (not to mention underwhelming), so after spending a dozen or so day helping the the research station on the planet she had set off once more. Her next stop ended up being the nearby human colony of Horizon, where her father had first battled the collectors and later fought Cerberus in their research base on the planet.

Since she stepped off the transport four days ago, Ria had mostly wandered, looking for work or something of interest before moving on. News of a prothean dig-site, which had been discovered several weeks earlier, had brought the young quarian to the small town near the edge of the populated region of the world.

She had found work repairing the town's communication relay, which had been been badly damaged in a power surge some days before. The people of the town were nice enough, letting her have free reign to salvage anything she needed to repair the relay. She had hoped the prothean dig-site would bring some excitement or interest, but had discovered the ruins had yielded little but a few broken or badly damaged pieces of tech; though what had been found must have been deemed important enough to warrant the small Alliance platoon guarding the site.

The sun was setting fast, so Ria decided to abandon the task of repairing the relay until tomorrow. Heading to the small room she had been given to stay in, the quarian finished gathering her repair tools and began walking through the abandoned, or at least until morning, dig site.

The sound of thruster caught her attention as three Kodiak shuttles flew overhead. _Those don't look like Alliance shuttles_. Looking away as the shuttles zoomed out of view she saw a figure dart quickly into a nearby prefab. Something about the way he had acted, obviously trying to not be seen, coupled by the appearance of the shuttles, did not sit right with Ria. Dropping a hand to her pistol, the quarian drew the weapon, activated her shields, and crept forward; following the man into the prefab. She found the founding empty, only some shelves containing boxes of mining charges and other equipment.

_Calm down, it was likely nothing. You are just tired and a bit on edge from the damned task of somehow fixing that relay_, Ria scolded herself, though she couldn't fully shake the foreboding feeling she felt. The quarian dropped her pistol back to her side and turned to leave.

Suddenly a earth-shattering boom cried out, echoing over the dig-site. Smoke began to rise from where the military outpost stood at the opposite edge of the dig. Cursing herself for leaving her father's rifle back with her other belongings she drew her pistol once more.

She saw movement out of the corner of her eye, spinning just in time to see a rifle slam into her visor. Stars flashed before her vision as she was sent staggering into the prefab. Her head throbbing in protest, the quarian fought to focus, awareness returning only to see a rifle being raised to point at her. Her pistol had been knocked from her grasp, so she grabbed and tossed a flashbang that she kept hooked to her belt to land at the feet of her attacker. The grenade detonated right as the man opened fire. The first few rounds deflected off her shields as the grenade detonated, sending her attacker stumbling back as he clutched at his eyes.

Ria threw herself at the man, sending them boss tumbling to the ground and the man's rifle spinning out of reach. The attacker recovered quicker then she expected, slamming a elbow into her stomach as she tried to rise to her feet. A hand grasped her neck as she was slammed into the prefab, the grip releasing to let her slid down to slump against the wall.

Time seemed to slow as the man drew his pistol and carefully aimed it at her head. Dazed, Ria acted not on thought but on instinct driven into her by many arduous combat training sessions with her father. She lashed out with her leg, knocking the gun from the man's hand. Grabbing his arm she half pulled him toward her, half pulled herself up; even as she drew her combat knife to bury it into the man's neck.

The man struggled for several moment, before stopping as he realizing his doom, instead reaching for a small device on his belt as he slumped. Ria staggered back, leaning against the prefab and breathing heavily. She saw the man's hand slowly open, a detonator rolling out.

Panic filled Ria as a shrill whistle emanated from the prefab. Throwing herself to the ground she activated her omni-tool and boosted her shield strength with reserve power in her suit. There was a loud bang and a flash of light, before everything went dark.

**. . . . .**

A throbbing pain washed over Ria as sluggishly returned to consciousness. The fact that she was even alive, abet in pain, was a pleasant surprise. Groaning Ria opened her eyes. The sun had sunken lower into the horizon but had not yet completely set, indicating she could not have been out for more then twenty to thirty minutes. Periodically gunfire cried out in the distance.

Ria began to crawl toward where she lay to her fallen pistol only to collapse halfway, shaking with fear and shock. _Get up, stop cowering you bosh'tet_ she scolded herself, trying desperately to stop her shivering. _Your father didn't curl up and die on Akuse, your mother didn't cower after she was shot by Saren's men. You have no excuse, you have to get up and do something. There are more of them out there. Think what would dad do in this situation._

Steeled by thoughts of her parents, of their example, Ria pushed herself to her feet. Picking up her pistol Ria looked toward the sound of gunfire. She started forward, but after a moments hesitation turned around and went in the opposite direction, to where her father's Vindicator and her other equipment was stored.

Gun head at the ready she moved silently through the camp. She had almost reached the prefab when she picked up voices coming from up ahead. Moving low she began crept around the corner to see two men in white and gold armor, their assault rifles held casually at their sides.

Ria felt anger surge up as one of the men laughed, nudging the body of a dead working with his foot to punctuate some cruel joke. Standing, she thrust her omni-tool at the men, overloading their shields. Before either could react she took aim and fired with her pistol, dropping one of the men with three shots in quick succession. The other man spun to face her, raising his gun to fire only to crumple to the ground as a fourth round struck him center of his head.

Ria sprinted over the bodies and quickly entered the prefab before more arrived. Snatching up her pack and father's rifle she quickly and carefully loaded a thermal clip into the gun. _Okay Ria, think. Why are they here, what do they want? Whoever these men are, they don't look like slavers; too well equipped. That must mean they probably aren't here for the colonists, so they must be after something in the dig-site_, she realized with a start.

Acting on this hunch, the young quarian stepped back out into the twilight, Vindicator at the ready. Moving quickly, only stopping to retrieve grenades from the two men she had killed. She made her way to the opposite end of the dig, careful to skirt the edge as she drew closer to the sound of fighting.

The commotion had mostly died down by then, with one side likely having won. Ducking behind a crate Ria could see three more of the attackers approaching, not yet aware of her presence.

Tightening her grip on her gun, she aimed down its scope. Firing off two controlled bursts, she tore through the man's shields, dropping him in a spray of blood. She dived forward as the two remaining men opened fire, tossing a grenade as shots whizzed past. The grenade went off and rolling to her feet she fired twice more, finishing off the wounded and shield-less attackers.

The sound of gun fire returned, only this time it was not far off. _Someone is still fighting back_, she thought, hurrying towards the sound. _I have to get there before I fear its too late._

_**. . . . .**_

Corporal Laura Alenko dived forward, sliding behind a large pile of stone just as bullets filled the area she had occupied moments before. Panting she reloaded her standard issue Avenger assault rifle, desperately trying to assess the situation.

The attack had came out of nowhere, dammit. None of them had been prepared for this. Nearly all the soldier at the camp had all been killed in the explosion, only she and a few others who had been station elsewhere throughout the colony had been left to respond to the attack. They had been easily overwhelmed; too disorganized, spread out, and outnumbered to put up any real fight.

She could tell her chanced of survial, let alone victory, were slim. _I am pinned behind cover, alone, and facing four heavily armed enemies. _But she was a alliance marine, dammit. Her father was a spectre and fought in the Reaper war. She could not run away and cower like a child.

Reaching for her last grenade and taking a deep breath, she broke cover, tossing the explosive as she ran. Rounds ricocheted off her shields, nearly collapsing under the the enemy assault before she made it behind a second pile of rocks a few yards away.

As the grenade detonated she broker cover once more, firing her gun in controlled spurts into the chest of one of the soldiers, his body falling to lay next to the madly mangled corpse one of the men who the grenade had killed.

A hail of rounds caught her in the chest, staggering her as breaking through her remaining shields to strike her armored torso. Stubbornly she held her ground, firing burst after burst, another attacker falling in a spray if blood..

Suddenly she found herself flying back through the air to land on her back with a crunch. _A biotic!_ She mind screamed as she struggled to stand, but she found her movements sluggish in the wake of the biotic assault. A man entered her vision, staring down at her, his rifle pointed between her eyes. _So this is how it ends._

A gunshot rang out, and a spray of red filled her vision. It took a shocked moment for her to realize she had not been shot, her would-be-executioner tumbling to the side.

Still stunned, she slowly began to push herself to her feet, looking around for the source of the shot. She was surprised to see a quarian a few dozen yards away, rifle held at the ready as she began to approach. _A quarian? Here?_

_**. . . . .**_

Ria lowered her rifle and hurried over to where the woman, who began to push herself to her feet groggily as the quarian approached. Drawing closer Ria came to a halt in slight shock as she recognized the human.

"Laura?" Ria asked, rushing over and helped pull the soldier the rest of the way to her feet.

"Ria?" the woman asked, just as shocked to see the quarian. "What are you doing here?"

Like most of children of her parent's friends and allies, Ria and Laura had met on several occasions over the years, mostly at reunions her father and Garrus liked to hold every year or so.

"Pilgrimage." Ria simply answered, glancing around alert for any sign of enemies approaching. Exchanging glances, the two dropped down behind a boulder where they would be less exposed before either spoke. Once behind cover Laura as the first the speak.

"I hadn't heard that there was a quarian here on Pilgrimage, let alone that it was you. Not that I am complaining."

Ria nodded in response, sliding a fresh thermal clip into place. "Any idea who these guys are."

"No, they could be mercs, but they seem too well equipped and organized. Too well equipped and organized to be any merc group but one of the major mercenary bands, but they don't match up with the appearance or tactics of the Blue Suns nor the Eclipse." Laura breathed heavily. Slowly and purposefully she reloaded her Avenger, taking deep breaths to calm her rapid intaking of air.

"So, whats the plan?" Laura asked after the two had finished exchanging what little either knew about the attack, Laura asked.

"Plan? Your the Alliance soldier, I'm just some girl on Pilgrimage."

"I have just been trying to stay alive. You saved my ass and are easily in more control of the situation then I am."

_Me, in control? Barely._ Ria mused, though now was not the time to argue. "The smart plan would be to get the hell out of here. But... I don't think I want these bosh'tets to get what they are after"

"And that is?"

"No idea, but it has to be something from the prothean dig-site." Ria stated, standing up. "Ready for a little payback?"

"Hell ya." Laura said with a grin, reading her weapon.

The duo made their way through the camp quickly and quietly. They took out two groups of the invaders with little-trouble as in both cases they caught the men off-guard; who seemed to have believed all resistance had been crushed.

At the center of the dig was a single prefab. Looking through the scope, Ria spotted the shapes of several figures moving inside the windows. Remembering some of the alliance hand-signals her father had taught her, she motioned for Laura to advance low and silent up to the building.

Crouching out of view under the window, Ria activated her omni-tool, boosting the sensitivity of of her suit's audio receivers, trying to pick up what the men talking inside were saying.

"_Squads 5-A, 7-B, and 11-B have failed to report in" _

"_It seems someone is still putting up a fight"_

"_Should we go take care of it?"_

"_It doesn't matter, we have what we came for. Squads 2-A, 6-A, 1-B and 3-B are already pulling out with the Matrix. We have our orders, keep transmitting prothean data the excavation team recovered, along with their records and research data."_

Ria and Laura traded glances. Gesturing at the building, to which Laura nodded, the two stepped to either side of the door.

On her cue the two burst inside, guns raised. Inside were five men, all wearing white and gold armor like all the other attackers. "Put your hands up! If you surrender we won't have to kill you!" Ria shouted in what she hoped was a intimidating tone.

She was met by laughter as the men brought their own weapons up to point at the two. "So, here are the people causing us trouble," laughed a man wearing armor more ornate then the others, who appeared to be the leader, speaking in a mocking tone. "A quarian and a single alliance soldier, what a joke. Come now little suit-rat, who do you think you are, ordering us around? You are way out of your league, talking to us like that." The man approached, assault rifle held casually at his side, confident they posed no real threat. "But you have guts, I will give you that. Tell me, whats your name little girl? I would like to know who my men are about to kill"

"Ria, Ria'Shepard nar Rannoch" the man halted, dead still at her words.

"Thats, right" Ria smirked from under her helmet. "My father is Commander John Shepard, and lets just say he might have taught me a thing or two about dealing with the likes of you."

"Kill her," the man snarled.

Before he even finished his order, the two woman were already moving, diving to either side as Laura tossed a flashbang grenade Ria had given her, while Ria herself activated her omni-tool. "Go get them Tikkun."

Rolling to their feet, they opened fire, their rifles tearing into the soldiers, cutting them down with swift efficiency. With the confusion caused by the grenade and the combat drone attacking from behind, the men were unable to put up much resistance , most never even getting a chance to fire off a single shot.

"I did try and warn them" Ria muttered as the last soldier fell.

A gurgling cough alerted her that one of the men was still alive. Glancing around she found its source, the leader of the men, badly wounded but still weakly reaching for his fallen gun. Rolling him over with her foot, Ria drew her pistol and pointed it at his face. "Who are you, what are you after?"

The man attempted to laugh, only managed a gurgling cough "Its too late for you. Once we have the Darkforge no one will be able to challenge us." The man once again broke into a fit of coughing, his movements growing weaker."

"Who?" Ria demanded.

"Cerberus..." the man half snarled, half coughed, convulsing in a violent coughing fit before falling still.

Ria let her weapon drop, arm limp at her side. Outside thunder rumbled ominously far off in the distance.


	3. Chapter 3: The Citadel

Author's Note

Now that the Extended Cut is out, and my overall satisfaction with it, I have decided to make minor changes to the story to no longer take place following a alternate ending. This story now follows the Destroy-Live ending, with the only notable difference being that the Geth and EDI were not destroyed (ya, can't change that aspect and it messes with some future chapters.)

Another change is I have gone back and posted dates at the beginning of each chapter and whenever there is a leap of a day or two within a chapter. This is to make the passage of time a bit clearer and so I don't have to mention the time passage between chapters at some point in the story.

Another note I would like to address is the update schedule for this story. I plan to try and post a new chapter once a week. If I happen to write more then one chapter in a week I will still most likely continue to post one a week. This it to allow myself to get ahead in terms of completed chapters to allow for me to keep the 1-per-week schedule for some point in the future when I inevitably have less free time then a I do now.

Anyhow enough rambling, on to the story.

* * *

___Date: 4/11/2210_

Ria gazed out the window as she drew closer to her destination, the small transport vessel that she and Laura booked passage on having exited the Charon Relay less then half a hour earlier. She glanced over at Laura, who sat in the seat to her left, the human dozing quietly as she had for the past few hours.

_I probably should be trying to get some rest, given what we went through. How long has it even been since I last slept?_ Ria wondering. After the attack it hadn't taken long for the two to decide that they had to get the information about the attack to the council. Luckily most of the colonists had been unharmed in the attack and were grateful for their part in helping to drive off Cerberus. As a result they had agreed to help the quarian find passage to the Citadel.

Laura had insisted that she accompany her, with the vast majority of her fellow soldiers having been killed she didn't even have a unit to return to. Besides, she had argued, she was the only other person who had heard the dying Cerberus agent's last words, and that Ria would need her testimony to convince the Council to listen to her claims.

Outside the window Ria caught a glimpse of gray and silver as the Citadel came into view, spinning lazily in orbit over the human home-world. Looking at it one couldn't tell Citadel had been badly damaged during the final days of the Reaper war, a result of the energy released by the Crucible. In the years following the war the now united races worked to rebuild the Citadel and the Mass Relays, to symbolize the unity and cooperation now found between them.

Construction had gone swiftly, mostly in part of the rachni and geth workers who could complete more in a day then what others could do in a week, the repairs finally being completed eight years after they began. Thought repaired the Citadel remained in orbit around Earth, with no clear way to move the Citadel to hits original location in the Serpent Nebula able to be determined. The newly reconstructed Citadel became to seat of power for the New Council, which had formed to include of quarian, geth, krogen, volus, elcor, and hanar representatives along with those that had made up the original council.

Ria nudged Laura to wake her as the ship moved in closer to the station as it prepared to dock. "Wake up, we're here."

"Good," the marine yawned. "You think the council will listen to us?"

"They better. Lets hope they have become less dismissive since the war."

**. . . . .**

"What evidence do you have that proves the men who attacked Horizon were Cerberus agents, besides the words of one dieing man?" asked the turian councilor, speaking over the confused jumble of questions the other councilors assaulted Ria with after she had finished her account.

"None, beyond what I have already told you" Ria answered, shifting apprehensively where she stood.

"Which is inconclusive at best, it is more likely they that they were simply a merc group." The turian answered, before she could open her mouth to speak.

"Agreed, we cannot take action simply on the dubious words of a dying man." the Human councilor agreed.

"You can't just sit there and ignore this! The colony was attacked by Cerberus, and they were there for a reason. They found something, a prothean relic; and we have no idea how dangerous it could be," Laura shouted, her frustration apparent. "My entire deployment was decimated in this attacker. Even if you won't believe it was Cerberus the people who did this are a threat."

"You forget your place, corporal; we have not yet recognized you to speak," warned the turian.

"She is however, correct in one regard." the salarian councilor broke in. "These attackers are indeed and concern, no matter their identity."

"Agreed" the quarian councilor said, speaking for the first time. "I recommend an investigation into this matter."

"An investigation, that's it?" Ria shouted. "Just like what was done with Saren twenty-eight years ago? Ignoring what I have said, just like you did with my father?"

"Calm yourself, Ria'Shepard nar Rannoch," The asari councilor said, cutting off the turian councilor before he could respond to Ria's accusations. "We have given you a fair hearing and are going to look into the matter as fully as we are able under the circumstances. In addition we will begin analysis of the date you recovered, to discover the identity and purpose of what was taken from the dig-site."

Ria dropped her head, realizing there was nothing more should could say on the matter.

Sensing the meeting had come to an end, the salarian councilor addressed the Ria and Laura. "We thank you two for bringing this situation to the council's attention, you are free to go now."

Gaze still cast downward Ria bowed slightly, her fists shaking with frustration, before turning to leave. Behind her she could hear Laura's footsteps following close behind as they left the council chamber.

**. . . . .**

Even after they had left, the council chamber sat silent, its occupants lost in thought. Finally, after several minutes of quite, the asari councilor spoke, breaking the silence "They were right, you know, we cannot afford to ignore the possibility of Cerberus returning,"

The gruff voice of the krogan councilor grunted in agreement "Indeed, the one course of action we can take in light of this is to send a spectre to discover the truth of matters."

"I will contact Spectre Alenko, he has more experience dealing with Cerberus then any of our other active agents. Also, with his daughter's involvement it is likely that he will request assignment on this mission if we didn't choose him." the turian agreed.

The asari councilor smiled, speaking again. "Councilors, a thought just occurred to me. Spectre Alenko is not our only agent who had family involved with this situation, someone who has even more experience with Cerberus than Alenko; and I think we can all agree there is no one better to take this mission."

**. . . . .**

_Shepard gazed out over the city through the wide window, the streets beneath teaming with life as people went about their day to day live. A deep rumbling caught his attention, looking up as everything began shaking violently, the sky suddenly growing utterly dark. A deep reverberating sound shattered the air as shadowy shapes dropped slowly from the sky. Flashes of red light began to decimate everything in its path, the very earth split and torn asunder. Then the horrible red glow of there gaze fell on the him, their thunderous sound almost resembling laughter. Crimson light streaked out, filling his vision as everything exploded around him. He found himself falling through blackness, the only sound now cries of terror and pain._

_Suddenly he was on the ground, standing in a hellish war-torn landscape. He was now wearing battered and blood-soaked armors, a gun was clutched in his hands a he fought against seeming unlimited hosts of enemies. All around him soldiers of every race, one by one torn apart by twisted mockeries of organic life. Voices cried out to him from ahead, calling out his name. Running over a hill he could see Tali, Garrus, and all of his other friends fighting, surrounded by hundreds of the nightmarish swarms of enemies. He ran toward them as a massive black shape dropped down, a massive beam of light shot out to engulf them. The light filled his vision, their voices crying out his name before being cut silent._

_Everything went utterly black, no-longer could any sound be heard. Suddenly a shadowy form begin to take shape, a oily shadow somehow even darker then the utter black around it. The shadows took shape, forming a all-too-familiar form; utter dread taking him as two sets of golden eyes flared to life. From it came a voice louder then the loudest sound, filling with malice and utter-contempt. Fear and agony shot through him at every word it spoke, beginning to struggled as if to escape from unseen bonds. "**You cannot escape us, Shepard**"_

Shepard bolted upright with a gasp, his heart hammering with such ferocity it felt as though it threatened to break free from his chest. He gasped for air, eyes darting for any sign of the attack he knew would fall upon him any second. Then remember where he was, that the Reapers were long gone, dead over twenty years past.

"Nightmare?" as soft voice asked from beside him. Tali sit up, reaching out with a uncovered hand to grasp his own.

"Ya" Shepard whispered, his hallow. "It was of the Reapers,and the war. In it I watched as they attacked Earth, people dieing all around me, all needing my help, but I couldn't save them." He trailed off, silent for a agonizingly long series of heartbeats before he found the strength to continue. "So much death and destruction, even now I can't escape it, scars that not even time can ever truly heal."

"Shhhh" she murmured, cupping his cheek with a slim hand, luminous eyes staring deep into his. "They can't hurt you anymore John, they are gone. You survived them, lived through what would have broken anyone else. You fought harder and did more then anyone else could, and survived to be able to experience the peace you helped create. Thanks to you the galaxy is free of the Reaper's shadow, without you no one would be left. Remember that no matter how dark the past remains, you have already conquered it."

A sense of peace and calm passed over him, the Reapers' shadows seeming to lift and fade away at her words. Leaning forward Shepard kissed her lightly on the lips as he wrapped his arms around her, pulling his bondmate closer to his side. "Here I am, the "great" Commander Shepard, needing to be comforted over a bad dream."

"How the mighty have fallen" the quarian teased as she drew in closer to him, savoring the warmth his body provided. "I will always be here for you, remember that" Tali murmured softly, slipping back into sleep

Just as Shepard closed his eyes, a loud beeping shattered the quite. Bolting upright once more, he rolled from the bead, grasping his closes from where they lay on the floor.

"John, is that?"

"The Council's emergency line, yes. They wouldn't contact me through it unless it was serious." Quickly pulling on his pants and a shirt, Shepard hurried out of the bedroom and into his office a the other end of the hall. Tali entered the room shortly after him, having slipped on a simple dress and her _realk_.

Moving to stand in from of the office's computer terminal, Shepard pressed taped a key on the holographic display before stepping back. The spectre waited impatiently as seconds crawled by before the image of the asari councilor appeared on the screen.

"Spectre Shepard" she replied in greeting.

"Councilor."

"I apologies for calling at this late hour, but a situation that has come to light that could not wait."

"Must be serious if it couldn't wait until morning" Tali grumbled, annoyance clear in her voice.

"Admiral Tali'Shepard, I regret that I had to disturb you and your lifemate, but as I have said; the matter could not wait." the councilor answered curtly, before resumed addressing Shepard. "Yesterday we received reports that a prothean dig-site on the planet Horizon was attacked. While troubling we did not think much of it until more information was gathered. Earlier today we spoke with two survivors of the attack. One of whom was Corporal Alenko, who was part of the Alliance deployment to protect the site. The other was your daughter."

Shepard tensed at her words, having to use every ounce of his self control not to shout his next questions. "Is she hurt? Where is she now?"

"She was unharmed and is currently on the citadel. However, her involvement in this matter is only one reason I have contacted you, and not even the primary one."

"Which is?"

"The identity of those behind the attack. Your daughter was able to question one of the men before he died. I believe it ts best for you to hear what he said first-hand from the recording." the asari reached down hit a key on her holographic display as she finished.

"_Who are you, what are you after?"_ Shepard felt Tali grip his arm at hearing their daughters voice.

"_Its too late for you. Once we have the Darkforge no one will be able to challenge us."_

Shepard felt a chill run up his spine, a overwhelming sense of foreboding filling him as he heard his daughter ask her next question. _"Who?"_

"_Cerberus" _the man's words seemed the hang longer then they should have, long after the recording fell silent.

"How?" Shepard finally asked. "We destroyed Cerberus twenty-three years ago."

"It would appear that either the group was never completely destroyed and survived in secret all these years, or more likely has been reformed."

Shepard nodded in agreement "either way Cerberus is a threat we can't take lightly. I volunteer to lead the a team to discover and stop whatever they are planning."

"This is exactly why you were contacted, Of all of our spectres, active or not, you have the more experience with Cerberus then anyone else. I will be sending you all the relevant files, of the dig-site and of any reports that could be connected to the attack. You will not be the only spectre assigned to this mission however. Spectre Alenko will be joining you,"

"It will be good to work with Kaidan again." he smiled.

"You will meet him at Arcturus Station four days hence. There you will link up with the ship and crew assigned to you for this mission, and travel to the citadel. The council is counting on you to deal with Cerberus before they can become a threat to galactic stability."

"Understood Councilor, Shepard out."

Shepard slipped into the chair at his desk as the call ended, a notice spearing on the screen as the files the councilor mentioned were transferred to his terminal. As focused as he was on reading the file, the spectre did not notice Tali slipping out of the room. She returned some time later, tapping him on the shoulder to get his attention before tossing him a pack loaded with equipment.

"You better look through that and make sure I didn't miss anything, we don't want to have to turn around and come back if we forgot something important." She said, setting a second similar pack at her feet.

He glanced between her and the bag, raising a eyebrow. "You're coming with? I wasn't aware you had been invited?" he teased.

"Of course I am coming, you big bosh'tet; was that even a question? I can't even imagine what would happen if I wasn't there watching your back." Tali smirked playfully, leaning forward to plant a kiss on his cheek. "Ria will be fine, I am sure the council will try and make sure she does not get involved."

"Ya, but knowing Ria... that's what I am worried about."

**. . . . .**

Little could be seen in the dark, unlit room; the dim glow of a computer console the only source of light. The room's only occupant was all but inadmissible in the gloom, his black and gray clothing melding him into the shadows.

"_Report" _came a voice from the console.

"The code-matrix has been recovered, but the other data was interrupted before the transfer could finish. It seems a young quarian on her pilgrimage named Ria'Shepard was managed to gain access to the date."

"_Ah yes, the adopted daughter of Commander Shepard. Where is she now?"_

"She arrived on the Citadel earlier today. What should be done?"

There was a long pause before there was a reply. _"The data miss Shepard recovered is only a secondary concern. Agents have already been dispatched to the Citadel for more pressing matters. However as the data is at the same location, the possibility of recovering it should not be overlooked."_

"Our agents on the Citadel might not be numerous enough to accomplish both goals."

The voice paused in thought before continuing, _"I will put you in contact with mercenaries who would be willing to recover the data for us, that way if they fail we will not lose any more resources other then credits, which are easier to replace. Meanwhile I need you to go to omega and begin phase two of our plans. If the asset cannot be recovered there, then things become more...complicated. Do not fail me, Ghost."_

"Understood"

The light of the console died as the call ended, plunging the room into complete darkness.


	4. Chapter 4: Of Data and Disks

_Date: 4/12/2210_

"Those stubborn, egotistical, delusional sons of bitches!" fumed Laura, drawing stares from several passerbys as she sat down next to Ria on the patch of grass next to the park's lake. It was late in the evening, one day since their audience with the council.

"Uh huh." Ria agreed, tapping holographic keys on her omni-tool.

"I just got back from trying to get a audience with the Council again, but they refused of course." Laura scowled, struggling not to shout.

"Uh huh." replied Ria, eyes locked on the glowing display, reading through lines of text as they appeared.

"I can't believe we're supposed to just sit here and do nothing when council isn't going to either." she continued.

"Uh huh."

There was a long pause as Laura took notice of the one-sided nature of the conversation. "You aren't even paying attention, are you?"

"Ya, not really. Doing something right now."

"How are you not even angry? They just ignored us despite all the evidence, even a recording, we gave them."

"I am angry. I am also, however, trying to do something about instead." Ria replied looking up from her omni-tool for the first time. At a questioning glance from the human sitting across from here she continued."I have been going through the data we recovered. A lot of it seems to be encrypted, which I am trying to decipher."

"I thought the council made you turn that data over to them?"

"They did. I just made myself a copy first before I gave the original to them." Ria smirked. "What, did you think I was going to just let this drop? I figure if we find out why Cerberus wanted this data, we can find out what they are after and maybe how to stop them. Or at the very-least what their next move will be."

"So, what have you found so far?"

"Not much. What isn't encrypted is mostly just records from the dig, nothing significant. The other data seems to be prothean in origin, and is heavily encrypted, which I have yet to make any progress with. Even if I did, its very possibly I won't be able to even understand the data."

Ria paused as she heard the crunch of footsteps through the grass. Looking over he shoulder she could see a man walking across the park in their rough direction, his head down and hands in pockets of his coat.

While nothing about him seemed out of the ordinary, she felt unnerved as she watched him draw closer. Something told her the man was watching her. She glanced at Laura, who nodded slightly in affirmation she was thinking similar thoughts. Together they rose to their feet and left the park, careful to appear as casual in doing so as they could.

"Did you see him" Laura hissed under her breath, her gaze locked ahead of her to avoid arousing attention.

"Yes," Ria murmured in reply. "You think he's after us?"

"No idea, but I am not about to take that chance."

For some time they walked, taking a winding path through the ward. After minutes had passed, Ria decided to risk a glance behind her, catching sight of the same man following a few yards behind. "He's defiantly following us."

"Well then, lets find out what hes after then." Laura muttered, hand slipping closer to her gun.

They slowed their pace before coming to a stop. Ria glanced around, noticing the street was empty save for herself, Laura, and the man; reasoning that was the reason Laura had only then decided to confront him. Together they drew their pistols and turned to face the man. They could now see he held a small sub-machine-gun in one had, likely drawn from one of his pockets as they had turned.

Guns raised the three stood still and silent, each side staring the other down.

"We don't have to do this you know. I get payed the same as if I kill you I do if I don't; though I would much prefer to do this the easy way," the man sighed, waving his gun vaguely in their direction. "Hand over the data you took from the dig-site and you can be on your way."

"You know full well what our answer is." Ria said, trying to stay calm against her heart's rapid hammering. The complete calm of the mercenary's demeanor unnerved her, but she wasn't going to let that get in her way.

"A pity, I would rather have avoided having to make a mess" the man sighed, pulling his other hand from his pocket.

Ria opened fire, Laura doing the same, only for their rounds to ping harmlessly off a simmering purple barrier that appeared around the man. The mercenary's waved his hand, a invisible force struck her and sent her sprawling. Laura had been likewise hit by the man's biotic assault, having been slammed again as nearby wall, now slumped motionless on the ground.

Rolling over the quarian rose to her feet, raising her gun to fire once more only to be slammed back to the ground by another biotic attack. Again she tried to rise, this time only managing to make it halfway to her feet before being one more battered aside by the man's biotics, her gun spinning out of reach.

"Just give up and hand over the data. It is pointless to continue this, you are outmatched." The man approached calmly as Ria struggled to rise.

The mercenary grinned confidently as Ria gazed up at him, seeming to lack any strength left to even stand. In a instant the grin was replaced with a look of shock as Laura suddenly twisted from where she lay, her legs sweeping the biotic's own from under him. Caught off-guard by her ruse, the biotic tumbled to the ground as the soldier sprung to her feet, slamming into him as he began to rise.

Ria now stood, her ruse having worked, and darted for her weapon. A biotic push sent it out of reach less then a second before she could grasp it. Cursing she turned, seeing that Laura was now grappling with the biotic in hand to hand combat. Breaking away, Laura drew a combat knife, slashing twice at the man which he narrowly avoided. Lunging forward she stabbed at the man, the knife burying deep into his shoulder.

No one moved for a heartbeat that seemed to drag on for hours. Before she could react the mercenary lashed out with his fist, catching Laura square in the jaw. Even with knife still embedded in his shoulder, the man kneed Laura in the stomach, doubling her over as he drew a pistol and pointed it at her head.

"The data, now. Give it to me if you don't want your friend's brains painting the street." the mercenary demanded, gesturing at Ria with his chin.

Slowly Ria withdrew the micro-storage-device she had received as a gift only weeks before and tossed it to the man. Glancing over it for a few moments, the man pocketed it before shoving his hostage away from him.

Laura tried to rise up and lash out at the man as he turned and began to walk away, or at-least would have if Ria hadn't placed a hand on her shoulder to restrain her. Waiting until several minutes had passed once the man disappeared from sight, Ria exhaled audibly.

Unsurprisingly Laura then turned to Ria, shouting "Why didn't you try and stop him? We just let him walk away with the data."

"Because, the storage-device he took also works as a tracking device. With it we follow him, find out where he is taking it. "

Laura stared at her blankly, almost appearing as if she had been struck. "You clever... you planned that all along."

"Not until he said the data was the only thing he was after." Ria shrugged. "I realized we could use that to our advantage too..."

"To find where Cerberus agents are city are, and take them out. Even if that mercenary meets them somewhere away from their hideout, they will still take it back there eventually. Ria, have I ever told you how much of a clever, underhanded, manipulative, bitch you are sometimes? " Laura laughed.

"I try." Ria laughed, quickly glancing around before continuing "We better go collect our things. The hotel likely won't be safe, Cerberus may have it under watch."

"We need to find somewhere to go in the meantime, at least until we discover the location of whatever hideout Cerberus is using." the marine agreed.

"Not to mention we may need help, I am not sure the two of us will be able to invade a Cerberus hideout on our own" For some time Ria was silent, lost in thought as they took a long twisting route through the ward, trying to shake any pursuit. After some time a smile began to form as a idea sprang to life "I know just the place. Though you will have to wait until we are sure no one is listening before I can tell you."

Once they were convinced no one was following, they finally began heading back to the hotel they were staying. When they were only a few blocks away Ria came to a halt, noticing Laura had stopped a few feet back, her eyes locks on a public new terminal. Confused, Ria threw the human a questioning glance, the human waving her over. Concerned by the urgency of the human's demeanor, Ria ran the few steps, coming to a halt as she read the headlines

_**Prothean Dig Site on Eden Prime Attacked**_

_In events reminiscent of the geth's attack in 2183, a prothean dig-site on the human colony of Eden Prime came under attack by a unknown ending yesterday. Much of the details pertaining to the attack are unknown, the only current knowledge of the attack coming from several confused distress signals. _

_The ruins under attack are those of a prothean compound that has been under near constant excavation since their discovery in 2186, many priceless pieces of prothean technology being recovered from the over the past two decades. Their possible loss would considered a devastating blow to prothean research. Will will continue to bring further reports on this startling development as more details come in._

Turning away the duo resumed their trek back to the hotel, redoubling their pace. "Cerberus," Laura stated bluntly. It was not a question.

"It has to be. Two attacks on a prothean dig-sites, each within a day of the other? This can't be a coincidence."

"Agreed. The only question is, what were they after and did they find it?"

**. . . . . **

Kel'Valah nar Rannoch gasped for air as he crouched in a alley, a prothean data disk clutched close to his chest. _You don't have time to catch your breath, get up! They will find you if you don't move! _Shaking with fear and exhaustion, the young quarian sprang to his feet and resumed running, desperately trying to get away from the men who had been trailing him through the twisting streets and alleys of the Citadel wards.

Memories of the past days events flashed unbidden before him; of the explosion that had heralded the attack on the dig-site, of the workers who had shown him kindness during his Pilgrimage slaughtered by gunfire, of taking the data disk that had been found only days before, and of fleeing with it. _That's right Kel, run. Its all your good _at, he cursed himself, blinking back the tears pooling at the edge of his vision. He had fled the attack while everyone dies, fled to the citadel with the intention of bringing the disk to someone, anyone who could help.

But nothing had gone as planned, finding himself being followed soon after arriving earlier that day. He had run once more, ran before they could corner him. But they had still followed, so now here he was, lost in the wards and once desperately trying to escape.

Glancing around a corner, the young quarian darted into a deserted alleyway. He breathed heavily as he leaned against a wall, struggling to pull in enough air to sate his burning lungs. Looking around he sighed, not seeing any sign of pursuit. _I must have finally lost them._

Just then movement caught his eye as two men entered the alley at the end opposite of him, pistols drawn as they approached menacingly. _Keelah,_ he cursed, turning to run back the way he came; only to find two more men cutting of his escape. He glanced around, eyes darting as he looked for any possible means of escape. He began to shake as fear gripped him, his heart beating in a rapid, frantic cadence.

"So, it looks like the suit rat is finally cornered," laughed one of the men as they closed in around the quarian. "Now the fun part begins."

Kel's eyes fell upon a circuit breaker sticking out of one of the walls, nestled next to a exposed coolant pipe only a few feet away from one of the men. He tucked the data disk into one of his suit's many pockets and activated his omni-tool, holding it in-front of him as if to ward away the men closing in. "Stay...stay back," he said weakly, his voice wavering with fear.

"Oh no! The little rat has a omni-tool, what will we do?" The man from before mocked, taking another menacing step forward.

"Lets crack open his suit," said another, "See how long it takes for him to get sick, see if he beats the record of the last one."

"Sounds fun" agreed the first man, grinning wickedly as he aimed his pistol at the quarian.

The anger that rose up in Kel shoved aside his fear. The quarian thrust his empty hand forward, a blue aura surging around his hand. The man's grin turned to that of fear and shock as he was thrown to the side, slamming into the wall with the sickening crush of broken bones.

"Shit, no one said he was a biotic" shouted one of the men, taking aim with his pistol/

Waving his omni-tool in the direction of the circuit breaker, overloading it. The coolant pipe to detonated, spraying two of the men in coolant and filling the alley with a think cloud a gas as the liquid rapidly evaporated.

Taking his chances, Kel ran for it as the last man opened fire, several round deflecting off his shields as it fled down the passageway.

By that point the two men who had been incapacitated by the coolant had recovered, opening fire as the quarian biotic sprinted around a corner. Just as he moved out of view a round struck him in the back, collapsing his shields, Kel hissing in pain a instant later as another gunshot cried out and a sharp pain lanced up his arm.

Now behind cover, Kel prodded the spot of red that had appeared on his suit, finding that he had only been grazed by a passing shot. Glancing around he say he was in a alcove in a building to the right of the alley's exist, the only way out was past the attackers' line of fire. The sound of his hammering heart filled his ears as he reached for the the shotgun slung across his back. Fear once again threatened to paralyze him, every movement becoming a struggle. _Stop shaking you coward, move! You have to move now, or they will catch you!_

As he heard the footsteps of the men drawing closer, he fought against the fear until with what seems like a monumental effort, the biotic leaped from cover. Squeezing the trigger a blast from his shotgun caught one of the men in the chest, blood spraying as his torso was blown apart. With the remaining men caught off guard, Kel knew he only had a moment to act before they returned fire. Exhausted as he was from running and from using his biotics moments before, Kel once again unloaded his biotic power, managing only a weak push that sent both men stumbling back.

The effort nearly drained all of what little strength the quarian had left, it taking all of his willpower to remain conscious, let alone standing. Sluggishly Kel hobbled to a drop-off that served as a entrance to a maintenance tunnel ahead of him.

With no time to climb down the ladder, the Quarian leaped over the guardrail, dropping down the ten-foot drop, landing with a thud. As he landed he left foot caught the ground awkwardly, twisting sharply as his weight fell onto it. He felt himself cry out in agony as a sharp, burning pain shot up his leg as he fell to the ground, he leg no longer able to support his weight. _Get up, you have to get up_, he told himself desperately, struggling to rise. Clawing forward he half dragged, half limped towards a ventilation shaft in a wall to his left, gritting his teeth as his vision darkened, nearly passing out from the pain.

The two remaining men opened fire from above just as the quarian crawled out of view. Fumbling with his omni-tool, he opened the gate blocking off the vents, crawling inside, before sealing it behind him. He crawled out of view just as he heard two thuds as the men dropped down into the maintenance shaft.

"Dammit, where did he go?"

"He must have gone into the ventilation shaft. Dammit, its too small for either of us to fit in there, looks like the quarian barely fit as it is."

"Even so, he won't be able to make it very far. Not wounded the way he was, you saw how he had to crawl away after that fall. Call in the other squads, we will catch him. The rat has no where left to run"

Kel crawled around the corner of the air duct, out of view. After what seemed like hours of dragging himself further into the ventilation system, but probably had only been a few minutes, he came to a stop. Weakly the quarian pulled out his first-aid kit, injecting antibiotics and smearing a dab of medi-gel on the shallow wound on hi shoulder. He then wrapped his sprained ankle in bandages before covering it in a layer a omni-gel which he hardened with his omni-tool's fabricator, creating a makeshift cast.

Struggling to stay conscious for a few more moments, he sealed the holes in his suit with omni-gel. Once this last task was completed he could not resist any longer, the world growing indistinct and faded as he sunk into a deep, dreamless sleep.


	5. Chapter 5: Infiltration and Rescue

_Date: 4/12/2210_

Tarran Vakarian felt his eyelids droop as he fought to stay awake long enough to finish filing the tediously routine report. Shaking his head in a hopeless attempt to ward off boredom-induced sleep, the turian battled to say focused on finishing his work. _And to think, you use to wonder why your father quit his job at C-Sec. Not that you would quit just because of a string of routine assignments and inactivity, would you?_ Shaking his head once more, part in a continued attempt to stay focused and part at his own thoughts, the C-Sec agent returned to typing out the last few lines of his report.

Ten minutes of excruciating uninteresting normality later, the turian finally finished his report, standing up as he hit the submitted it with a quick tap of a key. Rubbing his eyes, he began retrieving his things in preparation to leave. As he began his long walk home, his mind returned to his earlier train of thought. _All the same, I wish things were a bit less dull_. No sooner had that thought crossed his mind he began chuckling softly in response. _Hah, famous last words. Its those kind of thoughts that the human phrase "be careful what you wish for" was made for. _

It was late into the Citadel's "night" by the time Tarran finally reached the door of his small apartment. Unlocking the door the turian stepped inside, tossing his keys, officer's badge, and pistol onto a table as he entered. Not even bothering to remove his uniform, Tarran made his way to his bedroom, opening the door and reaching back to switch off the lights of the main room of the apartment behind him.

No sooner then had he flung himself onto his bed, the sound of a series of sharp knocks on his door reverberated through his head. _Spirits! What is it now? _Pushing himself from the bed with a frustrated groan, the C-Sec agent made his way to the door. "I'm coming, I'm coming" he shouted as another series of knocks rang out as he reached the door.

Opening the door he found himself facing two woman, a quarian and a human. Both were heavily armed, both had assault rifles slung over their backs, the human wearing a suit of alliance-issued armor. He almost began to reach for his own weapon, but stopped as recognition hit him... at a rather sluggish pace given his exhaustion

"Hey Tarran," The quarian said before he could find the words to respond. "We were in the neighborhood, thought we would drop in."

"Ria? Laura?" He said at last, bewilderment evident in his voice. "What are you both doing here? _Be careful what you wish for,_ his earlier thoughts echoed back to him.

**. . . . .**

Ria stayed silent as she moved to sit in one of the few empty chairs in the small apartment, unsure how to begin. Thankfully, Tarran spoke first, his question both breaking the tension and providing a clear place to begin "Judging by how heavily armed you both are, I assume you are not here just to visit. What's going on?"

It took the better part of a hour for the quarian to fully explain everything that had happened over the past few days, Laura occasionally providing details Ria missed. Tarran was for his part silent through the whole thing, his expression completely inscrutable the whole time.

"We can't go to the council for help, they ignored us the last time and this won't likely change now. That's why we came to you, we need help, someone we could trust," Ria finished, her gaze drawn to the turian as she tried to read his expression.

Seconds crawled by, Tarran tapping a finger on the edge of his chair, his gaze downward in contemplation. Finally after what felt like a eternity he slowly rose his gaze "I don't like this. I am supposed to report this kind of situation to C-Sec, if I don't it would mean putting lives in danger."

"But, all the same; you are right. If the Council ignored you, I am not sure C-Sec would take us anymore seriously. I don't like it, but the only thing I really can do is help." Tarran stated bluntly, the turian equivalent of a smile crossing his features. "Besides, I remember all the trouble we use to get into every time our parents met up. Though I had thought that sort of thing was behind me."

Ria grinned behind her helmet as the turian finished. "You know me, if I am not getting into trouble then something has gone horribly, horribly wrong. Glad you're with us though, there no one else I would rather have in this mess with me."

"Leave it to Ria to actually enjoy this whole mess," Laura said, rolling her eyes. "Vakarian, what did we ever do to deserve this?"

"Not being smart enough to run away and never looking back, I would say. "

Ria swatted the turian on the arm, chuckling softly "I am not that bad am I?"

"If one was the judge by the current situation, then yes, yes you are." Tarran said, Laura joining his laughter with her own. Then the moment passed, a air of seriousness flowing to fill the void left by the faded laughter. "So, whats the plan?" Tarran asked, his and Laura's attention focused on the Ria.

The quarian brought up her omni-tool's display, a holographic replica of the Citadel appearing to over above her palm. A blinking light indicated the location of the micro-storage device via its integrated tracker. "Alright, here's what we are going to do..."

**. . . . .**

_Date: 4/13/2209_

Ria carefully peeked over the lip of the building's roof, ducking back out of sight a moment later. While no movement could be seen in and around the warehouse there was not telling if there were any concealed sentries; a possibility that worried the quarian. _They could have already spotted us without us ever knowing. What if we are about to walk head first into a trap? Dammit, I shouldn't have decided to delay this long. _

The tracking device had led her, Laura, and Tarran to a small warehouse in the Citadel's factory district. Rather then charging in headfirst, Ria had decided (a decision she now worried she would regret) rather then charging in gun's blazing, to gather as much information she could about the warehouse and the surrounding area. She had hoped doing so some weakness or opportunity for attack would present itself, but none had materialized.

She nearly jumped in surprise from where she lay as Tarran moved to crouch next to here. "Find anything we can use?" she asked in a barely audible tone.

"None, the only viable entrances I can find are the main door and that side entrance. All of the windows are bared by metal grids, and even if they weren't they are too high up for us to enter, at-least not quick enough to avoid being detected. "

Ria scowled, answering with a small grunt of agreement.

"Anything new in their movements?"

Ria shook her head, "as far as I can tell there are somewhere between ten and fifteen Cerberus agents there are any given time. The coming and going of their agents seems to be on a schedule, staying more or less even."

"Should we keep waiting for a better window of opportunity to present itself?"

"No, every moment we delay the chances of us being discovered increases, assuming we haven't been already. At this point I think we are going to have to take our chances soon. Its risky but I don't really see another..." Ria fell silent as the large metal front gate of the warehouse slid open, a truck roaring out. From her vantage point she could see at least five, maybe six occupants in the vehicle.

She felt her mouth gape open as she watched the truck vanish from view. "...speak of the devil" she whispered in a soft undertone. Glancing up at Tarran, she saw his mandibles spread in the turian equivalent of a grin. "Laura, did you see what I just did?" she asked, transmitting her question via her communicator to the human perched atop of another building.

"If by 'saw what I you just did' you mean 'one hell of a opportunity', then yes."

Ria smiled as she began checking her gun. "We'll need to move quickly less this window passes us by. We're going with the same plan we discussed before. Laura and I will hit the front entrance, which should draw off most of the defenders. Meanwhile Tarran will enter the side door exactly one minute after we begin the attack, flanking them and hopefully catching them by surprise."

"Understood," the human and turian replied in unison.

"Good luck guys, we begin in five." Ria said, shuffling back from the ledge of the building.

It took four minute for the trio to move into position, crouching in the shadows cast by the warehouse. Taking a deep breath to steady-herself, Ria readied her rifle; Laura doing the same from the other side of the door. Nodding at her, the quarian raised her hand, counting down with her hand.

_3... 2... 1... Go._

Laura turned to face the door, a booted foot kicking the door. With a loud crack of a lock breaking, the door burst open, Ria rushing inside. A man and a woman in light armor spun to face them, rushing to grab rifles from where they lay leaned against a wall. The torrent of fire she and Laura unleashed dropped both of the Cerberus agents within second, neither having a opportunity to fire off a single shot.

Shouts echoed down the hallway ahead of them, booted footsteps heard as reinforcements rushed to repel the attack that had befallen the warehouse. Gazing down the hallway, Ria saw two Cerberus troops lean around a corner, assault rifles raised. Ria dived to the side with only having a second to spare as the two troopers fired full-auto down the confined hallways. Rolling to her feet, the quarian retrieved a flashbang grenade her belt. She and Laura traded glances, the human nodding in affirmation as Ria primed the grenade. Tossing it around the corner, Ria shutting her eyes and disabling the audio-receivers of the suit moments before the grenade detonated. The moment the device detonated, Laura withdrew from her cover, Avenger belching out two bursts in rapid succession, followed by two dull thumps as both troopers fell lifeless to the ground.

Ria motioned for them to advance, Laura darting around the corner down the hallway, Ria following close behind. Halting before the opening that led to the main chamber of the warehouse, Ria ejected her rifle's spent thermal clip; slapping a fresh one into place.

Slowly and carefully they entered the main room, ducking low behind crates as they moved. No sound or sight of anyone else could be seen or heard, the large room eerily still. _Where are they? That can't been all of them._

When they were halfway through the room a soft mechanical whirl sounded from behind, Ria turning in response. Gazing upwards, the quarian's eyes widened behind her visor as she saw the source of the noise. "Get down!" Ria shouted as the two automated turrets, perched on a raised platform behind them, opened fire. Bullets tore into her shields as the quarian threw herself into a roll, managing to get behind a heavy metal crate just as her shields fell.

"Laura, status!" Ria demanded, unable to see any sight of the human woman.

To her relief, her COMs crackled to life a moment later."Still alive, got hit on the arm thought" the human hissed, her voice laced with pain, "how many of them are there?"

"Two automated turrets and three Cerberus agents, one of whom looked like a combat engineer. How bad where you hit?"

"Just a scratch, just need a moment for the injectors to take care of it. " Laura replied, her voice stronger now. "Where the hell is Tarran"

_Good question_, Ria thought as she activated her COMs. "Tarran, status! We are pinned down by automated turrets" Ria shouted into her communicators. When there no response Ria swore, shouting back to Laura "Hes not responding, so we can't count on him to get us out of this mess. Whats your status, anyway you can get a clear shot on either one of those turrets?"

"No, I'm completely pinned down, break cover now and I will be torn apart in seconds. If you have another plan, now would be a good time to use it!"

Pulling together a desperate course of action in her head, Ria activated her omni-tool. "We'll only have one shot at this, get ready to move on my mark...MARK!" Ria shouted as she flung a small object far off to the side. A gold and white glow sprang around it as her combat drone Tikkun flared to life. Just as she planned the turrets turned and opened fire on the drone, buying her previous seconds for what she was planning to do. Counting on Laura to draw off the Cerberus agents, Ria activated hacking protocols as she attempted to take control of one of the turrets. Ria resisted the urge cheer as the leftmost turret stopped firing, turning to focus on the other turret. Her elation was cut short as the turret stopped, spinning to face her once more. _Keelah, give me a break_ Ria cursed as she darted back behind cover as the turrets resumed firing upon her position.

"What happened?"

"I tried to hack one of the turrets, but the engineer locked me out. I am all out of options." Ria shouted. Try as she might, she could not fathom any way out. She had failed, she had led her friends to their deaths. She and Laura were trapped, only able to wait until the Cerberus agents moved in to finish them off. Tarran had yet to appear, and for all she knew he could already be dead. Tears welled at the edge of her vision as despair enveloped her. _Why did you have to try and be a hero, try and stop Cerberus when you should have left it to those more experienced then you. You're not a hero, you're nothing like your parents; you're just a foolish little girl. _

So convinced of her failure, Ria almost didn't hear as a familiar voice shouted "Go!" There was a loud a loud bang of a sniper rifle and a splat as the Cerberus engineer's head exploded. As the the turrets locked onto the source of the shot, turning to fire, Ria once more activated her hacking protocols. _Come on, work. Work dammit!_ A light on her omni-tool flashed green as one of the turrets spun around and began firing upon the other. Moments later the other turret sparked and died as it was torn apart but the hail of bullets from its brethren.

"Laura, now!" Ria shouted as she rose to her feet. She and the human opened fire, collapsing the shields of the remaining turret just as another shot from a sniper rifle finished off the turret. The two remaining Cerberus soldiers returned fire in a brave, if futile, attempt to somehow repel the attackers before being taken by the trio's combined fire.

Emerging from cover, Laura jogged over to where Ria leaned against a create, breathing as heavily as she was. Tarran soon also emerged from behind another create, making his way casually over to them.

"Tarran, you magnificent bastard; what took you so long?" Ria asked with a laugh once she final caught her breath.

"Had to deal with four troopers guarding the side entrance," he replied in a overly-cocky tone. "Your count was off by the way, there were two more then the fifteen you predicted, counting the six that left in the truck."

"Why didn't you answer your COMs though? A heads up would have been nice."

Fumbling with his gear for a moment, Tarran retrieved his omni-tool; holding it up to present it to them. A long gash ran down the length of the device, exposed circuitry and frayed cords sparking with small jolts of electricity. "A bullet grazed my arm, barely touched me; but as you can see it made communication impossible."

Nodding, Ria returned her focus on the task at hand. Looking around she spotted a stairwell leading to the basement of the building; seemingly the only part of the building they had yet to check. "Laura, stay here and keep watch incase anyone comes back. Tarran, you and me will check the lower levels. I have a feeling that's where they are keeping the data they took."

After Laura had taken up a position where she could watch both entrances, Ria and Tarran descended into the lower level of the building. The lower level seemed to consist of several small rooms, likely intended to serve as offices were the warehouse used for its intended purpose. One by one, they checked each room, finding little in the two rooms converted into sleeping quarters and nothing beyond standard weaponry in the chamber that served as a armory. Finally they came to the last room, which they entered after Ria managed to override the lock on the door. In the small, confined room were several computer terminals and a locked safe, which Ria set about opening while Tarran investigated the contents of one of the terminals.

As Ria worked to open the safe, Tarran began reporting on his findings after several minutes had passed. "There's not much here but some communication records sent to the agents here on the citadel. It seems as though recovering that data you and Laura had was only their secondary concern, a task they opted to hire mercenaries for while their agents focused on their primary objective"

"Which was?" Ria asked, still making little progress with opening the safe.

"Isn't mentioned directly or in any detail, I will check some of the later messages."

Which a satisfying click the safe unlocked as Ria's finally bypassed the locking mechanism. Opening it she found her micro-storage device. "Ah ha, go it" Ria said, pocketing the data as she stood up. "Found anything else?"

Tarran didn't respond right away, eyes darting back and forward as he read the display. "Dammit, so that's why they left!" he cursed suddenly as he finished reading.

"What do you mean? What did it say?"

"They are after a quarian, who was apparently at the dig-site on Eden Prime during their attack a few days ago. He took something, doesn't say what, but whatever it is their main objective was to recover it. From what this message says, they have been searching for him in the wards for over a day now?"

"We have to find him, does it say where they are searching?"

"Yes, but is also says that reinforcements are too be sent if they manage to locate him, to surround the area to cut off any escape..."

Ria swore as she remembered the truck that had left the warehouse earlier. "Dammit, we might still have time is we hurry". Turning she ran back towards the stairs, opening her COMs as she did. "Laura, get ready to move now, I will explain on the way. We don't have any time to waste." _That is, assuming its not already too late._

**. . . . .**

Ria panted heavily as she ran, Tarran and Laura following not far behind. It taken nearly half a hour of running, travel by taxi, and more running to reach the region mentioned in the orders and messages found in the Cerberus hideout. Slowing to a standstill as they trio finally entered the area, Ria waited for the human and turian to catch up. "We need to split up, cover more ground."

"You sure that's a good idea? From what Tarran said, there are close to twenty Cerberus agents looking for this quarian. It would be safer for us to stick together." Laura replied between panting breaths.

"No, we are already at a disadvantage in terms of how much ground we can cover. Its risky, but splitting up is out only chance. Stay in radio contact, report in with updates on your location ever few minutes"

"Understood" Laura and Tarran said in unison, tapping their omni-tools (Tarran having taken a replacement from one of the dead Cerberus operatives) to activate their communicators.

Picking a direction, Ria once more began running, counting on the others to pick different path. Lungs burning she struggled to keep up her pace, doubt to her chances of success began to gnaw at her. _I hope we are not too late... _

**. . . . .**

Kel ran as fast as his wounded leg would allow, making his way down one of the many narrow streets that made up this region of the wards. Looking back he could see nor hear any sign of pursuit. He had emerged from the maze of ducts that ran throughout the station a few outs before, finding himself completely unsure of where he was. He had wandered for some time, hiding whenever he caught sight of anyone other then himself, not daring to risk being spotted by whoever was pursuing him.

Coming upon a intersection, he carefully peaked around a corner, darting back out of sight upon catching site of a man farther down the street. _While it might not be one of the people after me, I can't risk it._ Backtracking he began to run back the way he came, only to stop when he saw another man round the corner. Panicking the quarian turned down a alley he had passed before, running to get out of sight.

Up ahead he could see the alley turned a corner, which he made a break for at a limping run in hopes losing the possible pursuers. Turning the corner he came to a sudden halt, finding himself face to face with a dead end. _Keelah, what do I do now? _Just as he made to turn around, footsteps echoed behind him. Turning he saw the two men he had noticed before, both drawing pistols as they ran toward him.

Trapped, cornered, and with nowhere left to run, Kel closed his eyes in concentration as he struggled to call upon his biotic talent. Opening his eyes he trust a open hand out at one of the men, clenching his fist closed. A biotic field formed around the man, warping and bending the mass of the cells that made up his body. The man howled in pain before a biotic push sent him flying in a crumpled heap.

Everything spun as the exertion of using his biotics twice within the span of a couple of seconds began to take its toll of the quarian. Kel sluggishly turned his attention to the other man, only to find him mere feet away, having closed the distance. Before he could call upon his biotics again, the man lashed out with the butt of his pistol, smashing into his shoulder and sending the quarian doubling over.

"You have been causing us a lot of trouble, you know that" A voice said as a booted foot struck him in the stomach a moment later, tears welling his his eyes as his breath forced from his lungs, clutching his stomach as he to his side. Gasping for breath Kel began to rise, only for another kick to connect with his head, slamming his head into the hard ground. Stars flashed before his vision, all sight and sound growing dark and indistinct as pain throbbed through his skull.

From what seemed like far off he heard series of dull bangs followed by even quieter thumping noise. Gazing up, his vision slowly began to return, the a silhouette entering his vision. Confusion and fear gripped him, as he tried to inch away. "Sta-stay back," he said through a weak and shaking voice.

He could now see the person standing above him was a human woman, who unlike the men who attacked him was wearing heavy blue armor. Slowly she dropped to his side, gently pulling him into a seated position. "Are you okay?" she asked in a firm yet calming tone.

"I...I think so." Looking around he notice the man who had been attacking him now lay face-down in a slowly growing pool of red blood. For some reason that observation seemed odd to him _huh, they have the same color blood as us._

"Do you think you can walk on your own?" The woman asked, it only just registering to Kel that this was the second time she asked the question.

"I don't know...I think so." he replied, trying to rise; only managing to make it halfway to his feet before a wave of vertigo hit him. A hand grabbed him and kept him from falling, helping him all the way to his feet. A arm slipped under his and around his shoulder, supporting his weight. "Come on, we have to get out of here."

"Th-thank you for saving me" Kel said, letting the woman support most of his weight, hobbling along the best he could.

"Don't thank me until we are out of this" the woman replied. Activating her omni-tool she spoke, addressing someone else "Ria, I found the quarian they were looking for. Two Cerberus agents are confirmed dead." There was a pause as she waited for a answer. "Understood, will meet you there." Deactivation her communicator, the woman turned her head to address him. "My friends are not too far off, but we need to hurry before anyone else shows up.

" If I may ask, who are you?"

"My name is Laura Alenko, I with the Alliance. I will let my friend explain everything once we reach her"

Kel dipped his head in a quick nod. Her family-name seemed familiar somehow, but Kel pushed that thought aside . With Laura's help he managed to keep up as they made their way through the twisted streets.

"Down here," he herd the voice of another woman call out to them from somewhere ahead of them. Looking in its direction, Kel could could see a stairway leading to a door set bellow the level of the street. With Laura's help he descended the steps, looking around for the source of the voice. He was shocked to find it belonged to another quarian, wearing deep forest green suit that was far less dirty and disheveled then his own blue _realk_ and dark gray suit_._

"Are you okay?" she asked, eying the makeshift cast on his leg and overall ragged appearance.

"I am fine, really" he said, exhaustion clear in his voice as Laura gently lowered him to sit against a wall, before moving back up the stairs to keep watch. Once he was settled he managed to find the the strength to speak "I don't know why you are helping me, but thank you."

The other quarian tilted her head in what served as a smile for their race when wearing their suits. "Heh, wheres my manners, my name is Ria'Shepard nar Rannoch" she said, presenting in a very her for him to shake in the human manner of greeting.

"My name is Kel, Kel'Valah nar Rannoch." he answered, shock as plain in his voice as it would be in his face were in uncovered. Every quarian had heard of the name Shepard, he had helped regain their home-world in addition to saving the entire galaxy after all. Like the rest of his race, Kel was aware that Shepard had married Admiral Zorah not long after the war, and had adopted a daughter; who Kel had now plainly just met.

"Okay Kel, we are here to help you get out of here. I don't know what Cerberus wants from you, but we are going to make sure they don't get it." Ria said.

A million different thoughts and questions burst forth in a confused jumble, taking a moment to grasp upon one of the more pressing thoughts that came to mind. "Cerberus, you mean they were the ones after me? I thought they were destroyed years ago?"

"So did we, until a few days ago. They seem to be after certain prothean relics, which is why the attacked Eden Prime and Horizon" Ria answered.

Kel reached into a concealed pocket of his suit, withdrawing the prothean data-disk."This is what they are after, it was found on Eden Prime. Took it during the attack, I hoped to keep it away from them, bring it to someone who could help."

Ria nodded, tilting her head once more. "You did the right thing trying to keep it away from them, Kel. I promise I will make sure you and it get out of here in one piece." she said confidently, gesturing for him to return the disk to its hidden location.

Laura returned just then, speaking to Ria "Tarran says he was spotted by two Cerberus agents. He managed to kill them both, but not before one alerted the others, so they now know were are here."

Standing up, Ria helped Kel to his feet, Laura (who was the larger and physically stronger of the two) throwing a arm around him to support his weight. "Come on, we need to move before we are discovered."


	6. Chapter 6: Decisions

_Date: 4/13/2209_

"Get down!" Ria shouted as three Cerberus operatives opened fire. Several rounds struck her shields before she managed to get behind cover._ Keelah, this is the third firefight we have gotten in on this damned station. You would think C-Sec, or anyone of that matter would respond to at least one of them. Either we are incredibly unlucky, or someone isn't doing their jobs!_

Ria was relieved to see Laura had managed to get herself and Kel behind cover, now leaning out of cover to lay down covering fire, dropping back behind it when her shields dropped low.

Taking the opportunity to activate her COMs, Ria shouted. "Tarran, whats your status! We're pinned down and have three of them on us._" _

The turian's voice responded a second later with a crackle of static."I haven't been seen yet, but I spotted two more heading your way; but lost sight of them before I could take either out. Should I try and head them off?"

Ria considered this for a split second before responding "Negative, there are two many others out there for it to make any real difference. I need you to find us a escape route before we are overwhelmed."

"Got it"

As the COMs cut out, Ria leaned over her own cover, firing her rifle in two quick bursts, collapsing the shields of one of the men as he rose from his own cover, only for him to drop back down before the quarian could finish him off. Cursing Ria ducked behind her own cover as the other Cerberus agents returned fire.

Peaking over her cover once her shields refilled to max capacity, Ria was shocked to see the telltale blue glow of biotics surround a box one of the Cerberus agents lay crouched behind. Moments later the box lifted up to hover four feet in the air, exposing the woman crouched behind. Ria and Laura opened fire, killing the surprised operative before either of her allies could retaliate.

As she dropped back behind over Ria noticed a faint blue glow around Kel, which faded moments later; the box falling with a crash as the biotics were released. The other quarian nodded as he slumped with fatigue from the exertion of using his biotics.

Nodding in thanks Ria fired upon one of the remaining Cerberus agents. As she fired, Ria watched as a frag grenade rolled to land next to the man, the resulting explosion tearing apart his shields and armor alike in a hail of shrapnel.

"Nice throw." Ria complimented, to which Laura flashed a quick grin back in response.

Together they rose from cover, Ria's omni-tool activating as she overloaded the last remaining operative's shields; Laura finishing the man off with a controlled burst of her rifle.

"Lets go, before more arrive!" Ria said, starting forward. No sooner did she finish her order, three more Cerberus operatives rounded the corner, one opening fire to cover the other two as they moved up behind cover. _Me and my big mouth. You just had to tempt fate on that one, didn't you._

The low hum of vehicle caught her attention, a truck screaming around the corner. The Cerberus operatives leaped to either side, neither having made it into cover before the vehicle passed through the space all three had occupied moments before.

So surprised by what had just happened, Ria nearly didn't act in time to finish off the surprised and now exposed operatives. Once they had been dealt with, the quarian turned her attention back to the truck as Tarran poked his head out the window. "What are you waiting for, get in."

A million questions jumped to mind, but now was not the time to question it. Shaking her head, Ria helped Laura get the limping Kel into the back the truck; which sped off once all three were inside.

"Where did you find the truck?" Ria laughed as she leaned back into her seat, utterly spent by the days events.

"Found it at the edge of the neighborhood. Would you believe Cerberus left the keys in the ignition?" Tarran grinned.

"Wait, so this is the same truck we saw leaving the warehouse?" Laura said, more stating it as a fact then as a actual question.

"We needed a escape vehicle and I thought Cerberus wouldn't miss it." Tarran answered, chuckling as he thought about what he had just said. "Well, they probably will miss it; but I guess that's a nice bonus."

"No doubt" Ria grinned, "At this rate you are going to surpass most action vids in regards to dramatic entrances, Tarran."

"What can I say, I like to do things with style when I can get away with." Tarran glanced back, gesturing at the other quarian sitting in the back. "So, you going to introduce our new friend?"

"My name is Kel'Valah nar Rannoch, thought you can, uh, just call me Kel if that easier..." Kel answered, trailing off awkwardly.

"Tarran Vakarian." the turian said in response. He paused for a moment before asking, "So what were Cerberus after?"

For the most part Ria answer the question, seeing as how utterly fatigued the other quarian was, relaying what Kel has already told her. No one spoke immediately after he had finished, the only sound the faint hum of the truck's engine. "So whats our next move?" Laura asked, breaking the silence..

"We need to find somewhere safe to go, Cerberus is sure to come after us, now that we have the data-disk," Ria answered.

"Not to mention find a way to access the contents of that disk. Unless either of you are secretly prothean experts, I don't thing any of us have even the faintest clue how to even do so. Lets face it, we are starting to get way out of our league. We are going to need help, at the very least." Tarran added.

"Right," Ria agreed, tapping a finger against her thigh as she considered her options. At last she turned to Tarran and asked, "I know just the person who can help us. Do you have any idea where your father would be at this time of day?"

"Uh, he should at his office in the Presidium, I can't be sure though."

"Good, take us there. We might not have much time to waste."

**. . . . .**

It took almost a hour to make their way to the upscale office complex where Tarran said they should find his father. They had ended up ditching the truck before reaching the presidium, opting to take a taxi the rest of the way.

"Are you two sure he will be able to help us?" Laura asked once they reached the entrance to the building.

"Positive, my father holds a high ranking position in the Turian Hierarchy as a advisory to the Primarch. With the political pull and access to resources he has, I am confidant he can help; and that's not even considering the resources he can access due to his position as director of the SR3 Project."

Making their way inside (and a all-too-long elevator ride), the four reached the door of the office where Tarran's father worked. Knocking on the door with a series of swift taps, Tarran stepped back and waited. Several seconds crawled by before the door slid open with a faint hiss; relieving a turian wearing a blue and black military uniform, his combat visor out of place amongst the rest of his apparel.

"Hello father, sorry to drop by announced. You know how I hate to call ahead."

Garrus Vakarian looked over the four standing in front of him, nodding his head in what must have been in recognition of two of the three accompanying his son.

"Dammit Tarran, what did I tell you about bringing quarians home with you. Now they are never going to leave" Garrus scolded in mock-anger before, greeting the others with a laugh. "Ria, good to see your doing alright. Laura, good to see you as well."

"Uncle Garrus" Ria said in greeting, feeling a smile tugging at her features despite the seriousness of the meeting. "We need help, and we didn't know who else to turn to"

"I can see that" the turian replied, glancing over them; carefully noting their weapon, armor, and overall batter appearance. Stepping aside he ushered them in, shutting the door and locking it with a quick tap of the controls once they had all entered.

Once everyone had entered and taken a seats in several of the office's vacant chairs, Garrus made his way around his desk to sit down behind it to face them. Glancing over the four now sitting in his office, the turian sat silently for a moment, his expression inscrutable before asking "So, what who or what is threatening the galaxy this time? ...Oh, and what can I do to help, since that's probably why you are here."

Ria stared blankly at the turian, momentarily at a loss for words. "How are you completely unsurprised by any of this? Do you already know something about whats been going on?"

"Unless what you have been doing has actually been completely mundane, no, I haven't heard anything," Garrus said with a chuckle. "Its just after working with your father for as long as I have, you come to expect this sort of thing. That and the weapons, armor, and patched-up wounds may also have been a bit of a tip-off."

Despite herself, Ria grinned at the turian's lighthearted remark. Briefly pondering where she should begin, Ria began explaining her experiences with Cerberus over the past few days, and what they had discovered, Tarran and Laura periodically mentioning small details the quarian missed, or adding their own observations and thoughts.

Once she had finished, Garrus sighed with a shake of his head. "Cerberus, how am I not surprised that council doesn't want to believe they are back. So what are you planning to do now? You can't go after Cerberus on your own, at least not without help."

"Well, we need to find a way to access the data we found on Horizon, and find out whats on the Prothean data disk"

The turian dipped his head in affirmation."So, you need to contact Liara then."

"Yes, she is the only prothean expert I can think of who we can trust," Ria nodded "Besides, she might know something else that can help us, given her...other occupation. "

"With luck I should be able to set up a meeting over secure channels within a couple of hours." he said in answer to her unasked question. Glancing at the clock on his computer terminal with a thoughtful expression, the turian added, "You will have to be here, which should be safe here in the meantime."

**. . . . .**

Ria squinted as her eyes adjusted to the dim lighting of the room. The dark room was empty but for hologram projector and a raised control panel set in the center. Stepping through the doorway, the quarian asked "So you are sure there is no possible way for Cerberus to intercept the signal sent in this room?"

"Give me some credit" Garrus answered as he entered the room, Laura, Tarran, and Kel following in behind him. "This room uses a quantum entanglement grid, connected directly to Liara's base. In fact, only your father, myself, some of her agents, and a few others know of this quantum communicator's existence... well granted, you four also know now; but the point still stands.

Nodding, Ria moved closer to the control panel. Walking besides her, Garrus stepped up to the panel and activated the communicator. Entering several pass codes, the project lit up, illuminating the room in a blue glow. Seconds passed before the glow intensified, a 3D projection of an asari flickered into being.

"Doctor T'Soni" Ria said in greeting, bowing her head slightly as she spoke.

"Ria, Laura, Tarran; its good to see you both. Its been far too long" Liara T'Soni responded in greeting, turning to each of them in turn, the later two giving their greetings remarks. She then introduced herself to Kel, omitting any mention of her position as the Shadow Broker. After she finished Liara turned her attention to Ria. "Now that the pleasantries have been taken care of, what would you like to discuss first?"

"How much do you already know?" Ria asked, not sure where to begin.

"Garrus has already informed me as to what you have told him, and my agents have told me more. I know that Cerberus has returned, and of the actions you have taken to combat them. I also about the data you retrieved from the dig-site on Horizon and of the Prothean Data-disk." the asari answered. "As such we can get right to the heart of the matter, if you transmit me the data I should be able to analyzing both and determine how to access it in its entirety."

"How do I sent it to you?"

"There is scanner on the panel in front of you that you can place the data-disk, as well as a place to connect the micro-storage device I have you."

"Kel," Ria said, holding out her hand. Reaching into a pocket of his suit, the other quarian retrieved the prothean data-disk, depositing it into her outstretched hand before withdrawing to sit down at the edge of the room.

Stepping forward, Ria inserted the disk into a scanner located on the control panel. Then she retrieved the the micro-storage device containing the data from Horizon from within her own suit and inserted it as well.

Liara seemed to turn her attention away Ria as the data began transmitting, gazing off at unseen screen displaying the incoming data. "Interesting..." the asari said at last, looking away from the display "The data encoded on the disk seems to be heavily encrypted."

"You can still access the data, right?"

"Normally I could be able to encode it given a few weeks, but in this case I am afraid it may very well be impossible to access the data on this disk without the corresponding encryption key. It is a difficult and demanding task to access data found on a intact data-storage device the protheans have left behind, and this disk is more heavily encoded then any other recovered. I might able to encode some of the data given a few months or perhaps even years, but as you are well aware we lack the time for that.

_Months! We don't have time for that!_ "So the only way to access the data is to find the encryption key."

"It will be more difficult then that, I am afraid. To protect their most critical and guarded information, the protheans employed several layers of security. Even with the corresponding encryption key, a device known as a Code-Matrix is needed to access the encrypted data. Even at the height of the Prothean Empire these devices were incredibly rare, only entrusted to high ranking scientists, government officials, and military personnel. Most were lost or destroyed during the empire's fall at the hands of the Reapers."

As Ria listened a scrap of memory regarding what she heard while on Horizon leapt to mind. "I remember a Cerberus agent on Horizon mentioning that they 'recovered a Code-Matrix'. I didn't know what he had meant so I hadn't thought much of it at the time. That must be why they attacked Horizon, they knew they needed it to access the data found on this disk."

"As far as I am aware only a dozen or so Code-Matrices have ever been; most of which no longer functioned. Only three that I know of are still functioning, and are heavily guarded secrets by those that own them, and even then are all badly damaged. If a functioning Code-Matrix was indeed on Horizon then it explains Cerberus' willingness to attack the colony in as brash manner as they did and risk revealing themselves."

Ria felt her heart sink. "If Cerberus already has a working Code-Matrix and the only others are out of our reach, how can we possibly find another one?"

"I am sorry Ria, but I don't have an answer to that question. The best I can do is to allocate what resources and agents to the task of finding the location of both the needed encryption key and a Code-Matrix."

Ria nodded slowly in acceptance that there wasn't much else they could do. "And the data we found on Horizon? From what I tell it is also encrypted."

"Indeed it is. Fortunately the preliminary diagnostics indicate the code on that data is much more basic. It may take weeks, but I am confidant that I will be gain access to the data without much difficulty."

"At least there's some good news" Laura commented with a frown.

"What about Cerberus? If we are to stop them I need to convince the Council to go after them, but they ignored what we brought before them last time."

"Given my occupation it would be a simple enough task to gather enough evidence to convince the Council to take action, but..." the asari said with a hint of a smug smile on her lips, letting her statement hang for several seconds before continuing. "...but there is no need. The council has already taken action in response to the threat Cerberus posses."

This revelation stunned Ria "But, didn't believe us! From what they said the most they were going to do investigate the matter."

"That may be what they said during their audience with you, but the Council did take your warnings more seriously then it would have seems and discussed the matter further after you had left. In fact, they took it so seriously that not only did they assign a Spectre, Laura's father as it so happens, to investigate Cerberus' activities; but also turned to the one person who has more experience with Cerberus then anyone else; your father."

"I... he is? Dad knows whats going on?" Ria felt a smile creep up her features, as childish joy surged through her. _Dad is going to stop Cerberus, just like in all the stories he to told you. _

"Indeed, he should be arriving on the Citadel three days from now."

"So, the Council actually took a warning about a imminent threat seriously for once," Garrus laughed, "that's is a pleasant surprise. Next you will be telling me that they also managed to successfully balance the station's budget. Well, I guess that's probably hoping for too much. Its going to be nice to see Shepard in action again thought, lets hope he hasn't gone soft."

"Well, what now?" Laura asked no one in particular. "Now we know that someone is going to be dealing with Cerberus I am not sure if there is anything else we need to do."

"That remains your own choice, Laura." Liara said with a small incline of he head.

Feeling that the conversation was coming to an end, Ria bowed her head in thanks. "Liara, thank you for all the help you have given us," to which the asari respond with a smile and a small, quick nod.

"Garrus" Liara said, turning her attention to the turian standing off to the side. "I will of course be sending Shepard the relevant data along with anything else I can discover; but as his best friend it will be best if you explain everything that has happened once he arrives on the Citadel, especially those matters of a... delicate nature."

"Understood" Garrus said with a nod and what seemed to be a knowing smile.

_What did she mean by that,_ Ria thought before pushing it aside; there were more pressing matters to worry about."What should be do with the disk then?" Ria asked as the asari turned to face her once more,

"You will need to take it with you, it can't stay here. In the mean time I will begin work analysis the data you recovered from Horizon" the Liara said with a strange smile. "I will contact you if I discover anything else."

Turning address everyone in the room, Liara dipped her head and said "It has been a pleasure speaking to everyone. Take care and... good luck." The room dimmed as the hologram of the asari disappeared. Several confused question raced through Ria's mind. _What did she mean by that, and why did she say she would contact me? Wouldn't it be better to contact my dad directly?_

No one moved or said anything, the rooms occupants appearing lost in thought or contemplation of what had been said. For her part Ria just stood quietly, unsure of how to feel given what she had learned. She didn't feel the relief she knew she should feel now that her role in all this was now over, that her father could deal with; The more she thought about it, the more she began to realize the source of her displeasure. She then knew what she was going to do was, the course of action she knew in her heart she had to take.

"No" she said softly, more to herself then anyone else.

"What?" Laura asked, throwing her a confused look.

"I am not going to just stand aside at let my father face Cerberus on his own, not when I know we can help."

Much as Ria expected Tarran and Laura stared at her in dead silence with surprised expressions. Garrus however, did not show any sign of surprise or shock, his expression neutral but for what Ria swore was a hint of a smile.

No one spoke and seconds crawled by before Ria realized they were waiting for her to continue."You heard what that soldier said on Horizon, Cerberus is after something called the Darkforge. It must be some sort of weapon, or piece of advanced technology Cerberus thinks they can use. That's probably why they are after the data-disk, it must have information on where to find, or how to use it, I don't know. But it doesn't matter, because what I **do** know is that we **can** help; while our parents go after Cerberus itself we can find a way to unlock the information on the disk and find a way to stop whatever they are planning."

"Ria, think about what you are saying. We don't have the experience need, or the necessary resources. I don't like having to just step aside now, but I can't see how we can possibly do what you are suggesting." The soldier turned to Garrus and Tarran, looking for their support "Tell her how stupid this is."

Much to Laura's surprise, Garrus shook his in in disagreement. "I think Ria is right. It will be dangerous, more so then any of you can imagine, but I also have faith that what you can do this. Ria if you are sure this is what you must do, I will help in any way I can."

Garrus' knowing smile when he spoke to Liara and lack of reaction to her declaration suddenly made sense to Ria. _He and Liara already knew I was going to decide to still try and stop Cerberus, even before I did. _Even so Ria felt a tears well at the edge of her vision, touched by the old turian's faith in her. "Tarran, Laura, I am not asking either of you to come with me, but one way or another I am going, and nothing any of you can do to stop me."

Laura opened her mouth as if to argue, but Tarran, who had been silent up until that point, interrupted her before she could speak. "I am with you, can't have you running off and having all the adventures without me after all."

Ria nodded in thanks, turning her attention to Laura. The soldier was silent for several moments, before final sighing and saying "Alright, I don't like it, but I am with you."

"I want to help too." Kel said in a soft but confident voice, startling Ria. Everyone else appeared to be as surprised as she was, all turning their attention to where the small quarian sat with his arms wrapped around his legs. "You three saved my life, I owe it to you to help in whatever way I can...though I'm not sure how much good I will be."

"Don't sell yourself short Kel, I saw your biotics in action when we were fighting those Cerberus agents." Ria assured him. "Welcome to the team Kel."

"Really, I, uh...thanks." Kel stuttered awkwardly, dropping his head down in embarrassment.

"Well, this is great and all, but I have some bad news. I don't see how we can possibly be able to find the encryption key, not to mention another a working Code-Matrix, before Cerberus does. We will need a ship, not to mention a crew" Laura interjected.

"Well..." Garrus said, grabbing their attention. "as luck would have it I happen to be the director of a certain project. I will have to pull a lot of strings, not to mention step on a lot of toes, but I should be able to get you access to a ship."

"Really?" Ria said, stunned by the lengths the turian was going to help them. "I mean, I can't begin to say how much I appreciate... how can we ever replay you?"

"Think of it was a way of paying back your father for all the times he has helped me in the past. Not to mention hopefully staying on your mother's good side and away from the of the business end of a shotgun, given that shes probably not going to be very happy with me after this."

"Garrus, you know the chances of that little detail will make any difference is close to nothing, right." Ria laughed.

"Well, I can dream, can't I."

* * *

**Author's Note**

Well, for whatever reason this chapter was very difficult for me to write, so sorry if it is a bit awkward and jumbled places. Going into it I knew what I had to accomplish, but ran into trouble getting to the to where I wanted it to go. The hardest part is by far was writing dialogue for Garrus, his word-choice and speak patterns being very difficult for me to replicate. If I have time I might go back and revise the chapter over the next few day.

Next chapter will be jumping back to Shepard's perspective, though it will be awhile before the plot-thread revolving around him truly moves forward t there are still a couple of chapters worth of setup needed to be gotten through for that plot-thread).

Since I have gotten a couple of PMs and reviews asking about the existence of a quarian biotic, I will address that here. I do in fact have a explanation for it and it will be brought up in the story eventually; though unfortunately not until a bit later into the story. The reason is thus: Ria, being a quarian, would already know the details of what explains the existence of quarian biotics; thus it is a bit trickier for it to be brought up in a manner that makes sense.


	7. Chapter 7: Homecoming

_4/15/2210_

Shepard blinked as the shuttle's doors opened, the lights of the space station's docking-bay blindingly bright compared to those of the shuttle. Squinting as his eyes adjusted to the light, Shepard exited the shuttle, Tali following close behind.

It had taken them nearly two days, much longer then expected, to prepare and make the proper preparations for the mission, after which followed another two days of travel. They had cut it close, but in the end somehow managed to arrive at the Arcturus Station only two hours later then planned, relatively on time all things considering.

Without delay they made their way out of the docking bay and into a long passageway that connected to rest of the station. As they walked Shepard gazed out the large windows that lined one side of the passageway, watching ships glide past. Entranced by the ships, Shepard was unaware that he had stopped walking until he felt Tali grasp his arm and tug him forward. "John, you're blocking the walkway" the Tali said with a laugh as he shook himself from his trance.

"Well then Miss vas Rannoch" Shepard replied, hooking his arm around the quarian's, "we better not keep everyone waiting." Only after taking a few steps Shepard suddenly halted as a realization hit him. "Uhhh, Tali? Which hanger bay are we supposed to meet Kaidan at?"

"Hanger 4-B," Tali replied with a sigh.

"Ah," he nodded, smiling at her in thanks.

"What would you ever do without me?" Tali asked playfully as they began walking once more.

"Stand around cluelessly?" he asked innocently, to which Tali responded with another sigh and a shake of her head.

The station became more crowded as they drew closer to their destination, eventually having to weave their way around the masses of Alliance personnel moving throughout the station. Finally the entrance to the hanger bay came into sight, and were soon greeted by a familiar voice calling out to them.

"Shepard. Tali."

It took a moment for Shepard to pick out the source of the voice amongst the numerous people in the area, eventually managing to spot Kaidan making his way towards them. Grinning Shepard and Tali quickly walked forward to greet their friend.

"Kaidan," Shepard said in greeting, grasping his fellow Spectre's hand in a tight handshake. Kaidan appeared much as he had all those years before, expert perhaps he hair was a bit grayer now then it had been.

"Its good to see you again Shepard" Kaidan replied, returning the shake.

"Likewise, its been far too long"

"Ahem" Tali interrupted. Kaidan turned his attention to Tali, who stood with a hand on her hips as she gave the human a flat stare. "You forgetting someone" Tali asked, her tone one of mock-annoyance.

"Its good to see you too Tali, didn't mean to offend you" Kaidan added quickly.

"Was worried you forgot about me, couldn't let them happen could I?" Tali countered, her feigned irritation fading.

"Would never consider it" Kaidan replied Shepard covered his mouth with having to stifle a laugh at Kaidan's reaction to Tali's teasing.

Now that their exchange of greetings was over, a sense of seriousness seemed to fall over the three as they remembered the circumstances of their reunion. They were silent as they began walking towards the hanger bay, until Kaidan spoke after a minute passed. "So, Cerberus..." Kaidan said, letting the statement hang for a moment before continuing. "How exactly do you feel about this whole affair, Shepard?"

"I still am not sure what I think. I guess I had hoped Cerberus was finally gone for good, that with their bases destroyed and the Illusive Man dead they had been destroyed once and for all." Even as he said those words, memories of the Illusive Man's words during their confrontation on the Cerberus base came unbidden into mind._ "Cerberus isn't just a organization or the people behind it. Cerberus is a ideal. That ideal is not so easily destroyed."_

"More or less the same here" Kaidan agreed. "I am a bit worried about my daughter getting involved though, but hopefully she and Ria are are out of harms way now."

"You really think they are going to stay out of trouble?" Shepard asked with a raise of a eyebrow.

Kaidan sighed and smiled weakly "No, I suppose not. Laura is too, well... stubborn, to back down."

"And you think Ria isn't? If there is anything she has learned due to having this bosh'tet as a father, its how to be stubborn." Tali replied, nudging Shepard in the arm for effect.

That brought a genuine smile to Kaidan's face. "I don't know, Shepard might not be the only influence she has had in that regard."

"What are you suggesting, Kaidan?" Tali said in a mix of bemusement and and feigned-ire,

"Nothing, nothing." Kaidan muttered quickly as he moved up to the hanger door. Taking a moment to enter a pass-code, the door unlocked and opened with a faint whoosh. "The ship that has been assigned to us for this mission is right this way.

Following him into the hanger, Shepard found himself surrounded in darkness, the only light coming from behind him. Glancing at Kaidan, Shepard was about to speak when the hanger lights came on one by one, illuminating the sleek curves of a ship. The ship's white and black hull sparkled with a faint gold sheen, the name of the vessel displayed in bold, white text plastered along the side. Emotion welled up as the Spectre gazed upon the ship that had once been his home, that had carried him through more trials and danger then he could remember. He felt Tali's hand grasp him own, leaning against him, overcome with as much emotion as he was.

"Welcome home commander," Kaidan said breaking Shepard from his trance. As if on cue the entrance to Normandy's cargo bay lowered, light spilling in from inside. "Sorry for not telling you before, but I thought it would be a nice surprise."

"When did you find out?" Shepard asked at last, still somewhat overcome by surprise.

"Not long after I arrived last night. From what I was told the Council decided you would be at your best with a ship you were familiar with, not to mention a crew you could trust." Kaidan answered, motioning for them to follow as he began walking toward the now open cargo bay.

Hand in hang, Shepard and Tali followed, gazing up at the ship as they walked. "Has the Normandy been retrofitted recently?" Tali asked, curiosity and excitement evident in her voice. "Many of the Normandy's old systems are outdated now."

"Twice actually. Once thirteen years ago, then again a little over two years ago. The new mass effect drive they installed has increased the ships speed while traveling in FTL by about fifty percent, and now only has to discharge half as often as it use to. Continuing on, Kaidan gestured toward the main guns "The old weapons have been replaced by Mark IV Thanix Cannons, which can fire on average 27.3% quicker then the old model."

"What about the shielding systems?" Tali asked.

The shield generators have been upgrades to better withstand continuous fire, covering the main weakness of the multicore shielding system." The three stopped before the entrance to the cargo bay as Kaidan and Tali talked.

"I can't wait to see what I can do with all this new tech. Its been what seems like since I have worked on a ship, I had nearly forgotten how much I missed it." Tali said once Kaidan had finished explaining many other minor upgrades or changes that had been made. Despite her mask, Shepard could tell Tali was beaming with barely contained excitement.

"I knew you would be excited Tali" Kaidan answered, leading them into the cargo bay, the entrance closing behind them. Shepard gazed around the cargo-hold, still having trouble believing he was really back on the _Normandy. _Following Kaidan, he and Tali stepped into the elevator.

"Where will me and Tali's quarter's be during this mission?" Shepard asked as the elevator began acceding.

"Captain quarters, actually. As far as I know, James has already moved his things to the XO's quarters."

"Ah, I heard James was made captain of the Normandy a few years back." Shepard replied as the elevator's doors opened and the three exited into the Normandy's second deck.

Kaidan opened his mouth to speak, but was cut off as a voice called out to them in greeting. "Loco, Sparks!" Shepard turned just in time to catch sight of the Normandy's commanding officer crushed him in a bearhug that forced the air from lungs.

Gasping for breath once James released him, Shepard let out a choking laugh "I see you haven't changed at all James"

"You can't change perfection Loco" the large man laughed in response, before turning to face Tali, to which the quarian quickly responded "If its all the same to you, can I skip the hug? I would prefer to keep my spine in the same position it is now.

"Fair enough, its good to see you too Sparks," James answered with another laugh.

"The Normandy been giving you any trouble?" Shepard asked.

"The ships as good as she has ever been. Though if there's anyone _she_ gives a hard time its Joker, but I would rather not get into his private life."

"In case you were not aware, Commander Vega was referring to me, and my relationship with Jeff." a synthesized voice cut in over the loudspeakers.

"EDI," Shepard greeted, gazing up slightly, "I see your "humor" hasn't changed much in twenty years."

There was a long pause before EDI answered. "I am glad to inform you that the sarcasm was not lost on me, Shepard."

Before Shepard could respond, another voice spoke out over the COMs. "You'd think she would have picked up a thing or two from spending so much time with me, but sadly my position as master of snarly comments is remains uncontested."

Shepard grinned in recognition. "Joker! Its good to see... well hear...you know what I mean"

"Same here, when was the last time, the reunion last year?" Joker answered.

"That was two years ago, you couldn't make it to this year's, remember?"

"Ya, was on a mission I think?" Joker part answered, part asked.

"That is correct, Jeff." EDI answered.

"Thank you EDI. So, Shepard. You ready to save the Galaxy... again? Who knows, maybe we will actually manage to make sure that Cerberus don't come back this time."

"Lets hope it doesn't get to that point... having to save the entire galaxy, that is."

"Understood, blind-optimism it is." Joker quiped before closing the COMs.

Shaking his head with bemusement, Shepard asked "So, what now?"

"Well, now with the whole reunion thing done, I don't want to be the one keepinf you waiting around here. We can catch up properly later if you would like, but until then I will be down in the armory if you need me." James answered, to which Shepard nodded in acceptance.

"I better go to, help make sure everything is ready for when we set out for the Citadel." Kaidan said once James had taken his leave."Its going to be another five hours before the Normandy is finish refueling and resupplying, so you two should have plenty of time if you two want to talk to anyone or get settled in."

Once Kaidan had left Shepard found himself smiling as he gazed out over the deck, simply taking in the moment and falling into reminiscence of all the time he had spent aboard the Normandy. Tali moved closer to his side, resting her head against his shoulder. "Its good to be back on the Normandy."

"It is," Shepard said, his wistful tone mirroring hers. "Part of me still can't believe we are really back here... Another adventure, on the Normandy, its kinda like a dream come true."

"I guess some good has come out of Cerberus returning, then." Tali replied softly, a smile clear in her voice.

Falling silent they stood there for some time, enjoying the moment together. Eventually the moment ended, Tali drawing away with a sigh. "I suppose I should go down the engineering now. Get adjusted to all the changed, you know."

"Oh no you don't" Shepard laughed, scooping up the quarian his arms as she turned to leave.

Tali yelped in surprise as she was swept off her feet. "John!"

"We have five hours to kill, remember? I think there are much better ways that we can spent that time then having you cooped up in engineering."

"But." Tali laughed in protest, as he carried her into the elevator.

"If I recall, engineering duties never stopped you before, Miss vas _Normandy_" Shepard remarked, fumbling to hit the correct button without dropping Tali. As the elevator acceded Shepard gazed up called to grab the attention of the ship's resident AI, "EDI?"

"Yes Shepard?" the synthesized voice replied.

"Can you triple air filtration to the cabin?"

"Already done Shepard."

The elevator door slid open a moment later. With Tali still in his arms, Shepard stepped into pale light cast by the blue glow of the fish-tanks. He was surprised by how little had changed, from the furniture that filled the spacious room, the desk area, to the models he had behind still sitting in their display case.

Grinning Shepard made is way over to the bed and sat down onto the bed. No sooner had he sat down, Tali twisted in his lap to sit facing him, her hands grasping his shoulders. "Since you obviously have this all planned out, what do we do now, _Commander" _the quarian teased in a flirtatious tone.

"Plan? Me? I thought my bondmate would know me better then that." Shepard reached out to remove her mask. Her mask removed, Shepard gazed into the quarian's luminous eyes for a brief moment, his gaze then falling upon the playful smirk played across her lips. "Well, I suppose you wouldn't mind if I took charge of _things_ then." Before he could answer Shepard found himself on his back; Tali pouncing moments later to straddle him.

Before he made any move to continue Shepard quickly gave a series of instruction to the ship's AI. "EDI, make sure we are not disturbed by any of the crew. Also, wake us in four hours, I don't..." His words trailed off as Tali's lips met his, the rest of what he was going to say lost in a long, passionate kiss.

* * *

Author's note: Sorry if this chapter is a bit shorter then usual, next weeks will be longer. I also discovered I need to work on writing romantic scenes, as I really struggled with the end of this chapter and I feel as though it could have been much, much, better.


	8. Chapter 8: Invisible

_Date: 4/15/2210_

Ria yawned sleepily as she tapped her omni-tool, shutting the extrenet window she had been reading for some time. Her attempts to learn more about the SR3 program had yielded little that she didn't already know: The SR3 program had began in 2204 with the purpose of building upon the 2183 co-op project between the Turian Hierarchy and the Systems Alliance that had created the Normandy SR1 and encourage continued cooperation between the two races. Over the course of the project five ships were created the _Resolute_, the _Berlin,_ the _Champion_,the_ Ardennes_, and the _Invisible_.

Based on elements of both the Normandy SR1 and SR2's design, these often served as vessels for Spectres or to carry out black-ops missions. As a result these ships do not belong entirely to either the turian or human governments, resulting in the the crew of each ship consisting of members of both races.

_I suppose I will find out more, soon enough. _Ria thought, disappointed by her lack of success. Not that she hadn't expected this would be the case, but had tried nonetheless to try and stave off the crippling boredom she had faced due to being stuck to Garrus' office for the past forty-six hours. She, Laura, Tarran, and Kel had been confined, for their own safety, in the turian's office for nearly two days while he arranged getting them access to a ship and the supplies they would need.

Checking her messages Ria, unsurprisingly, found that she had received no new updates besides those Liara had sent nearly a day before. _At least that info gave me something to go on_. The asari, despite her immense array of contacts, spies, agents, and other resources she could call upon, had found very little concerning Cerberus's movements; or at-least not within the past two days. However, she had managed to intercept a transmission that indicated that Cerberus was deploying many of it's agents to Omega. For what purpose, the transmission had not said, but for now it was the only real lead they had, and Ria intended to take it.

Closing her inbox and looking up from her the now blank display of her omni-tool, Ria took note of how the other three were occupying their time. Laura sat to her left, methodically dissembling, checking, cleaning, and reassembling their weapons. _Leave it to Laura to find something practical to do when the rest of us aren't_.

Looking away from the human her eyes fell on Tarran, who sat facing the door with his back to the wall, a gun and a knife laying where they could be retrieved within a moments notice. Despite Garrus having placed guards outside the door, Ria found herself more comforted with Tarran's own vigilance then their presence.

Lastly her gaze fell upon Kel, who lay curled in a chair with his arms wrapped around his legs as he dozed softly; much as he had done for the past two days. _How little rest he managed to get while being hunted by Cerberus,_ she wondered, _ from what he has told us, Kel was chased practically non-stop for days. Its a miracle he even lasted as long as he did._ Ria felt for the young quarian, who unlike her hadn't benefited from the extensive training and preparation that might have better prepared him for this kind of danger. _Then again, its unfair to expect any other quarian to be as prepared as she was. After all, no other quarian is the daughter of Commander Shepard and Admiral Tali'Zorah. _

Ria jumped as a high pitched beeping from her omni-tool broke the quarian from her reflection. Answering the incoming call, Ria was greeted by Garrus' voice. _"Hey kid."_ He said in greeting, the quarian surprised by how utterly exhausted he sounded _"It took calling in a lot of favors and excessive __misuse of authority; but I finally managed to take care of all the necessary arrangements. I have sent for a skycar to take you to the ship-docks. I will be meeting you there."_

"Okay, I will make sure everyone is ready" Ria said before the call ended. _Well...here we go_

**. . . . .**

Arriving at the docks half an hour later, the four exited the skycar to find there Garrus already waiting for them. As the tone of his voice during the call had suggested, the turian looked absolutely fatigued. After exchanging short greeting, the turian led them through the docks, before coming to a stop before a door leading to a enclosed hanger.

After swiping a ID card through a scanner and entering a ten digit code to unlock the door, Garrus turned to face them. "Well, I guess this is the part where I am supposed to delay for a bit and build suspense" the turian said with a small smile, "But we all know that would be _incredibly _cliché and predictable, so I am going to skip that part."

With no further delay the turian opened the door and entered the hanger, Ria following with the others filing in close behind. Ria had to stifle a small gasp as the ship came into view, becoming vaguely aware of similar reactions from her friends. The ship appeared to be very reminiscent of the Normandy SR2, nearly identical at a passing glance. However, closer examination revealed several key differences. For one it was sixty percent the size, closer in size to that of the SR1. The ships hull painted a dark, nearly black, gray; and the "wings" were more swept back, giving the ship a more streamlined appearance.

"This is the Invisible, the newest of the SR3 class vessels." Garrus explained, turning to face them. "The ship is fast, quiet, and is equipt with state of the art stealth technology. If any ship can get you where you need to go faster then Cerberus, its this one."

"I assume we are going to need more then just the four of us to pilot this thing." Laura asked, voicing one of Ria's own . ?docid=28890495

"I have handpicked a crew, including a pilot and tactics adviser. They have all been briefed on the mission," Garrus answered, before turning his attention to focus on Ria to add "and have all agreed to follow your lead."

"Me? Lead?!" Ria exclaimed, finding herself at a loss of words.

"Of course, its your mission. It only makes sense that you are the put in charge."

"But I don't have any real leadership, or even military, experience. If I lead I am more likely to get us all killed then not. You are making a mistake, putting me in charge."

Garrus shook his head. "I wouldn't have put you in charge if I thought you couldn't. From everything you have told me, you already have proven your leadership abilities on Horizon and here on the Citadel." Garrus smiled encouraging, adding "Besides, I didn't plan on you having to carry the weight of this all by yourself. One of the Invisible's crew, a salarian Lieutenant by the name of Jalin Kalerihn will serve as your tactics adviser and will help lead your team during combat. He has extensive combat experience from his time spent in the salarian STG, and I trust his judgment."

Ria nodded slowly in acceptance, still unsure if her leading was the best idea. Ria glanced back at Laura and Tarran, who nodded in support, their expressions of encouragement saying more then words could. _Well, if they I will be able to...then I will. _Gathering up what confidence she could manage, Ria turned back to Garrus and asked "How well equipped is the ship in terms of supplies?"

"The ship has been stocked with food and medical supplies; along with weaponry and armor your you and the other crew-members; all of which have already been loaded onto ship."

"How did you manage all this in less then two days?" Tarran asked after his father answered Ria's question.

"Its like I told Ria before, lots of favors and misuse of power." Garrus said with a laugh.

"You're going to take a lot of heat for this, you know that. No one is going to be happy about what you are doing" Tarran commented with a grimace.

"It doesn't matter now, its far too late to turn back. Besides, I have never been one to follow the rules. What is important is that I have given you the ability and a chance to help stop whatever Cerberus is planning. I have faith in all of you, and I am just glad I did what I could to help"

Ria blinked back tears, touched by the extend of the turian's faith in them. "Garrus, I don't know how to thank you."

"You don't owe me anything, really. This mission will be more dangerous then anything you have been prepared for; I just made sure you had a chance. The only thing I ask is to promise me that all of you will be careful. Oh, and make sure blow up Cerberus agents or two for me."

"Just remember Garrus, we have the easy part," Ria said with a laugh."We are going to be facing one of the most dangerous groups in the galaxy, have to stop them from reaching goals we don't know anything about. You are going to be the one who has to explain to my parents about all the dangerous things I will be doing, and how you helped."

"Ya...explaining this to your mother is going to be _fun_," Garrus replied soberly, rubbing the back of his neck. "I better go make sure no one tries to stop you from leaving the station at the last minute. Lieutenant Kalerihn will waiting on-board to explain everything else you will need to know before setting off."

As Garrus turned to leave, Tarran called out to him "Dad, thank you..."

Looking over his shoulder, Garrus replied somberly. "Keep them safe Tarran, spirits know they will need it."

"I will" Tarran answered softly, stepping back to stand at attention as his father drew out of sight.

"Well then" Ria said, pushing aside her concerns and apprehension the best she could to focus on the task at hand. "Lets go see our new ship, shall we?"

**. . . . .**

With a faint hiss the elevator doors opened to the Invisible's CIC. _It looks exactly like the Normandy's _Ria thought, remembering when as a small child here parents had shown her around that legendary vessel. _Then again, I shouldn't be surprised given the SR2 served as the basis for this ship's design._

Stepping out of the elevator, Ria found herself greeted by a salarian wearing black and gold armor. Waiting until Tarran, Laura, and Kel had vacated the elevator, the Salarian greeted them. "Lieutenant Jalin Kalerihn, at your service" the Salarian said, speaking in the fast-paced rate indicative of his race. "As you must have been informed, Director Vakarian has instructed me to assist you with all the matters necessary in the completion of this mission, and to advise and assist you in leading this endeavor."

"It is a pleasure to meet you, Lieutenant Kalerihn."

"Please, I prefer if you just call me Jalin. Most of the crew does." the salarian replied warmly.

Nodding Ria continued. "Okay, if I may ask, what can you tell me about the Invisible? I couldn't find much in terms of the ship's specifications and combat capabilities."

"Ah, glad you asked. While the ship was designed with inspiration drawn from the Normandy SR2, the SR3 class frigates were created with a more heavy focus on speed and stealth capabilities. The smaller size and the many improvements on the Tantalus Drive Core allows for greater speed and maneuverability then the SR2. The stealth drives have also been greatly improved upon, allowing the ship to remain undetected at closer proximity to enemy scanners and for longer periods of time."

"What about the offensive and defensive capabilities of the ship?" Tarran asked.

"The Invisible is equipt with two Thanix cannons and Javelin missiles. However, both of these are scaled back due the the ship's smaller size. Same goes for the shields. After-all, the Invisible was created for scouting and black-ops missions, not for frontal engagements."

Before Ria could ask her next question, a synthesized voice emanated from the ship's loudspeakers. "Lieutenant Kalerihn, you have yet to introduce this platform."

"Yes Core, I was getting that that," Jalin replied with a sigh, shaking his head with bemusement. "That voice you heard speaking was the Invisible's resident geth consciousness, who the crew likes to call Core. Core runs and cyberwarfare systems and provides tactical analysis during ship to ship engagements."

The geth's voice once more spoke once Jalin finished. "It is a honor to meet you, Creator-Ria'Shepard."

"Nice you meet you too, Core" Ria answered, before asking. "How did a geth end up on a Human and Turian designed ship?"

"Due to the effectiveness of the Artificial Intelligence unit EDI on the Normandy SR2, it was deemed advantageous to employ AI support all of SR3 class frigates. Rather then create new AI for this purpose, Director Vakarian enlisted several geth consciousnesses to fill this role."

Ria nodded in understanding, to which the geth replied "If you are interested we would be willing to answer any other questions you may have at a later time, Creator-Shepard."

"I would like that, Core" Ria said with a smile. Looking back to Jalin, the quarian asked "Is there anything else we need to know about the ship before we can start?

"The ship's facilities and living quarters are fairly standard, crew quarters, kitchen, armory, conference room, engineering, and medical facilities are all present on the ship. The only non-standard room is an observation deck that doubles as a lounge for the crew, similar to that found on the Normandy SR2. Besides that there isn't anything else... well, a few minor things, but not necessary for time being." Jalin answered. "We should be able is disembark soon, I will inform you as soon as we have clear..."

"Jalin, we just received clearance a minute ago!" a voice shouted from the helm, cutting the salarian off.

"Thank you Talena" Jalin answered into his omni-tool, irritation clear in his voice. "Would it kill you to use the ships communication channels rather then shouting?"

"I could, but its more fun to shout; I know how much you hate it when I do." the feminine voice replied over the COMs with a laugh. "Talena, out."

"That was the ship's pilot, Talena." Jalin said in way of explanation. "You will have to excuse her behavior, she can get very abrasive at times. But shes a good pilot, best to have come out of Palevin in a decade, which is quite the complement given the extensiveness of Turian naval training."

"Can't be worse then what my father had to put up with" Ria laughed, feeling a bit of her previous apprehension fade away.

"Indeed, I have heard storied about Flight Lieutenant Moreau's "exploits"" The salarian laughed. "if you are ready, we can set off soon. Once we pass through the Charon Relay it will be nearly forty hours before we reach Omega, so you will have plenty of time to get acquainted with the ship"

Ria turned to look at her friends "You ready to do this?"

"Ready to begin a mission, filled with almost certain peril and no clear leads for us to follow? Sure, why not" Tarran quiped in answer.

"I am as ready as you are" Laura said with a nod.

"I-I am ready as well" Kel nervously answered.

"All right then" Ria said, stepping up to the CIC. "Set a course for Omega." Ria closed her eyes as took a deep breath, pushing aside her doubts and fears to focus on the path that lay before her. Opening her eyes, the quarian gazed over the galaxy map."Talena, take us out."

**. . . . .**

After successfully making the jump through the Mass Relay, Ria stepped down from the CIC. "Core, whats the ETA on reaching Omega?"

"38 hours, 53 minutes; with a possible variance of 21.78 minutes," the geth replied.

"Thank you Core." She nodded, turning to her friends. "I am going to have to take some time to familiarize myself with CIC's interface; which I do not expect any of you would like to just stand and watch me do. I know I wouldn't."

Tarran nodded. "In that case I will head head over to the armory and run inventory on what weapons and equipment we have. After which I will head down to the cargo-bay and familiarize myself with the shuttle."

"That would be a good idea; don't want you crashing the first time we have to take it out for a spin" Ria laughed.

"Tarran, I could help with inventory if you want, or I could go take a look at the weapon's systems" Laura offered.

"Whatever you would prefer" The turian answered, taking his leave and heading for the elevator, Laura following.

"Kel, what will you be doing?" Ria asked, turning to the other quarian after the other two at left.

"Well, uh, I am not really sure." The quarian stuttered, lowering his gaze as his hands grasped one-another. "My parents are both ship-mechanics, so I do know a bit about engineering... so I suppose I could help out there, if you think I am able."

"Kel, as a quarian I can safely say that "knowing a bit" about engineering for our people mean "very knowledgeable" by other races' standards. I am sure you will do fine."

"Uh, thank you, Captain." Kel nodded.

_Captain? That's going to take some getting used to_, Ria mused as Kel left. Returning to the CIC, she began to fiddle with the controls, asking Core for questions regarding the interface periodically. After an hour had passed Ria decided that she had learned enough about the CIC's interface (not that boredom didn't play a role in this decision) and decided to take a look around the ship.

After a moment of hesitation as she considered where to go first, the quarian stepped into the elevator and pushed the button that would send the lift down to engineering. Stepping off the Elevator a few minute later, the quarian made her way to the doors leading in engineering. Walking into engineering, Ria was shocked to find the room deserted but for Kel, who, from sounds coming from further back, undoubtedly working behind some of the machinery.

"Core?" she called out questioningly

"Yes Creator-Ria'Shepard?"

"Why isn't there any other engineer's assigned to this vessel? There is no way Kel is capable of doing it all on his own."

"Excellent question. In addition to providing tactical analysis during ship combat and helping run several of the Invisible's system, we also serve as one of the engineer's on the ship. In addition to ten maintenance drones that we can allocate to each 30 of our 2617 programs to, we possess a mobile platform for dealing with more complex task," the geth replied.

"Do you normally handle all the repairs and other engineering work on your own?"

"No, normally two other engineers are assigned to the the Invisible. However, Director Vakarian judged that knowledge and skill of Creator-Kel'Valah's and yourself wound be sufficient enough for additional engineers to be unnecessary."

Ria nodded in understanding "Where is you "body"?"

"It is at this time within a storage-pod at the other end of engineering." As he spoke the interior lights of the aforementioned pod lit up, revealing a simple silver and blue Geth mobile-platform. "Normally it would be active, but we deemed it necessary to give Creator-Kel'Valah time on his own to become familiar with the Invisible's engines."

"Thanks for the clarification, Core." Ria thanked.

"It you have further queries, feel free to ask."

After the geth "withdrew" from the communication channel, Ria headed further into engineering, still seeing no sign of the other quarian. "Everything alright, Kel?"she called out.

A loud thud, followed by a muffled cry of pain echoed from behind a several large coolant-pipes. Concerned, Ria started to ask the other quarian if he was alright, but fell silent as he shouted "I'm okay, I'm okay. I was just a bit startled, bumped my head." A couple of seconds later, Kel came into sight; the small quarian crawling through a two foot small gap between the floor and a section of the pipes.

"Sorry for surprising you, was just coming down to check on you and see if you were having trouble getting settled in" Ria explained, moving to lean against one of the guard-rails blocking off the drive-core.

"Y-yes, I haven't been having much trouble. I use to help my parents with repairing and modifying ships all the time when I was younger, even despite all the time I had to spend practicing after my biotics first manifested when I was twelve."

"I was curious about that, actually. I knew biotics among our people have become more common since we returned to Rannoch, but have never met any myself...well before meeting you, of course."

"Well... yes, uh, while biotics amongst our people are non-unheard of, we are far fewer then those of any other race, even when taking our race's fewer numbers into account. From what I understand, during our exile there almost no quarian biotics; if the type of accident that would cause a eezo exposure and thus development of biotics was to occur on a ship within the migrant fleet it would almost certainly mean the deaths of that ship's crew." the young quarian explained, moving to sit down against a wall across from Ria.

"Makes sense. Though that doesn't explain rapid increase in quarian biotics. I didn't think there had been any large-scale eezo exposures."

"There haven't been, at-least not in the traditional sense. During the fighting between the Geth and our people during the Reaper war; so many ships of both sides were destroyed in orbit over Rannoch that large amounts of eezo were released into the atmosphere. While in a far lower concentration then the exposures in recent memory, the eezo released over the planet was so widespread and lasted for such a long period is resulted in the development of biotics amongst "many" of the children born after we resettled Rannoch, myself being among their number."

"It must have been difficult growing up, after your biotic potential was discovered."

"It wasn't so bad, I wasn't feared or mistreated as many biotics are. But it was a lot of pressure growing up, everyone I knew expected me to dedicate myself to learning how to control and use my biotics fore the betterment of my community and our people as a whole. What little time I didn't spend practicing with my biotics was spent helping my parents repair ship engines."

Ria nodded in understanding. "Well, I am glad you're here Kel. Not only am I sure you biotics will be helpful to the mission, its nice to have another quarian on board."

"Yes...um, thank you." Kel stuttered, standing up. "I better get back to work, need to fix that coolant-pipe. The liquid isn't cycling through as fast as it should, could cause heating problems if too many systems are used at the same time."

"You need any help? I have time to spare and I know a bit about ships," Ria offered, "besides, I have some time to kill."

"Uh, sure, I guess." Kel answered as he ducked back behind the coolant-pipes. "It will go a lot faster with the two of us."

Smiling, Ria activated her omni-tool and followed the smaller quarian. _Lets see if I can remember what mom taught me about ship-repairs._

**. . . . .**

It took about a hour for the two quarians to finish their repairs, after which Ria decided to take her leave. Heading out of engineering, she was surprised to find Laura waiting for her. "I thought you were helping Tarran with weapons inventory?"

"I was, but he seemed like he would handle it better on his own, I was getting in a way mostly. You mind if I have a word with you about something?" she asked after her quick explanation.

"Whats up?"

"I don't think you should have let Kel join us on this mission, or at the very least not on any ground deployments."

Ria nodded slowly, "Go on,"

"Hes too inexperienced, he is going to get himself or someone else hurt. Killed. He shouldn't be here, for his own safety and ours'"

"He survived being hunted by Cerberus for several days, I think that speaks for something regarding his capabilities."

Laura sighed "Ria, we both know that was likely luck more then anything."

"I am not so sure. Besides, even if you are right, he was able to help us against those Cerberus agents." she countered.

"You didn't see what I saw" Laura said somberly, sighing once-more before continuing. "I was next to him when that fight started; he froze up and began shaking uncontrollable as soon as those Cerberus agents opened fire. Yes, he did help and overcome that, but not until later into the fight. Next time he might not have that time to overcome his fear, in which case he would be a easy target; endangering himself and us."

"I understand your concerns, but if he wants to help I am not going to stop him. Kel wants to help, despite all the danger, and despite his own fear and inexperience. Besides, I think he _can_ help, even if he himself doesn't have any faith that he can." Ria put a hand on Laura's shoulder. "Trust me on this, Laura. Have a little faith."

A moment passed before the human sighed and nodded in acceptance. "Okay. I don't agree, but I will defer to your judgment on this.

Ria dipped her head in thanks. Parting ways, the quarian made her way to the armory. Upon entering, Ria found Tarran still in the process of running inventory on their weapons and equipment. Looking up from his work, the turian nodded in greeting before returning to gazing between data-pad held before him and the assortment of weapons and equipment scattered throughout the room.

"Hey, just coming down to find out what sort of weapons and equipment we have" Ria said, moving to stand at the other end of the table across from him. "Though if you haven't finished yet, I can come back later."

"Actually, I have already finished with the weapons. Working on taking stock of grenades and special ammunition."

"Okay then, what weapons do we have access to?"

"Well, for assault rifles we had a two dozen M-8 Avengers, a dozen M-15 Vindicators and Phaetons, and two M-76 Revenants. For close range weapons we have half a dozen M-23 Katana, M-27 Scimitar, and M-22 Eviscerator shotguns. For long range we have a couple M-92 Mantis and M-97 Viper sniper rifles. Lastly for small arms we have ten M-9 Tempest submachine guns, thirty M-3 Predator pistols, and a dozen M-6 Carnifex heavy pistols."

Ria nodded before gesturing at two closed cases sitting on the table before her. "Whats in these?"

"Those contain some sets of armor my father acquired for us. Quarian armor to be precise, one of them is for you." Setting down his data-pad, Tarran pulled one of the cases towards him, releasing the clasps with a quick movement, and opened the case.

Inside was a suit of dark gray armor, designed to be worn over top of her exosuit. At first glance the armor appeared unadorned, but Ria then saw that a green on white stripe ran down the length of the right arm. Looking up, Ria gazed questioningly at the turian. "That looks a lot like..."

"Like the design worn by Alliance N7 operatives" Tarran answered, finishing her sentence. "It was my father's idea. He thought that you would want to wear something into battle that reminded you of your father and perhaps give you a bit of luck."

Ria ran did not answer immediately, instead running a hand over the pattern before speaking, lost in reflection. _Father, I promise to do everything in my power to stop Cerberus, just as I know you would do in my place._ At last she spoke, asking "Then why is a it green?"

"Mostly to match your suit I think, and to give it a more personalized spin."

"As if I needed another thing to thank him for," Ria chuckled, closing the case. Silence reigned for several seconds, before Ria moved to leave. "Well, I should probably head back to the CIC. Make sure to let Kel know that we have armor for him." she said, making her way to the door.

"Will do" Tarran answered as he retrieved his data-pad and returned to cataloging the remaining equipment stored in the armory.

**. . . . .**

Returning to the CIC, Ria spent the next couple of hours reading status reports from various parts of the ship and continuing to further familiarize herself with the CIC's interface. As time passed Ria began to feel increasingly tired, until eventually it became a struggle just to keep her eyes open.

"Creator Ria'Shepard, we still have a time period greater then thirty-five hours before we reach Omega. As your prescience is not critical for operations at this time, we recommend that you take some time to sleep rather then continuing to operate at limited capacity." The geth suggested over the ships communicators when it seemed the quarian could not stay awake any longer.

Too tired to even argue Ria took the elevator down to the 2nd deck and made her way to the ship's captain's quarters. Opening the door, she found herself in a medium sized room furnished with a desk, several empty shelves, and a bed; the standard setup for officer's quarters on a ship.

Despite her exhaustion Ria took a few minutes to look around the cabin; discovering, much to her surprise, that a portable decontamination unit had been installed in a corner of the room. _So I can actually remove my suit without getting sick, like I can at home... I guess Uncle Garrus did think of everything._

Fiddling with the controls for a moment Ria turned on the decontamination unit, waiting for it to finish running before dropping herself down onto the bed. Reaching up to her face, she unsealed her mask and removed her helmet, setting them on a bedside table to her left before lowering her head to lay fully on the bed. Sleep began to envelope her, pushing aside her worries and fear as her exhaustion that had built over the past few days finally took its toll. With a smile, the first not covered by a mask since her Pilgrimage had begun, Ria slipped into a deep, peaceful sleep.

* * *

Author's note: Hope this chapter makes up for the shorter then usual one last week. Well, now that two more characters have been introduced, we almost have a complete supporting cast for Ria's plot-thread. As you might have been able to guess, I took a page out of Mass Effect 1's book and had each of these characters filling the role of one of the six classes.

While Ria is more of a mix between a Soldier and a Engineer in terms of skills, I tried to make the other characters fit each of the different classes. For those who are wondering, here is the break down.

Soldier: Laura

Infiltrator: Tarran

Sentinel: Kel

Engineer: Core

Vanguard: Jalin

Adept: ? Ya... the Adept hasn't been introduced yet.

Secondly point of news. I have been considering posting bonus content, such as character bios, bonus scenes, and other content. However, due to the rules of I would have to do so on another site. I am considering doing to on my deviantArt page, but haven't really made up my mind yet. Just something I am considering.

Lastly, I would like to make a quick announcement. I am going to be leaving for a two week vacation on Monday; and will not be back until August 21st . While I try to get a chapter or two up during that time, but I can't make any promises... so don't expect regular updates to return until the 27th .


	9. Chapter 9: Reunions

_4/16/2210_

"_Shepard, we will be arriving at the Citadel in two hours time"_

The spectre groaned as he forced his eyes open, with a effort rising halfway to a sitting. _Two hours? Citadel? What?_ Disorientated Shepard glanced over at the clock sitting on a end-table next to the, realizing with a start that seven hours had passed since he and Tali had "retired" to the captain's quarters.

"EDI, any particular reason I wasn't woken when I asked nor was there when the Normandy disembarked?"Shepard demanded as he jerked up suddenly to sit completely upright "

"As the routine nature of the trip from Arcturus Station to the Citadel, both Spectre Alenko and Commander Vega decided to give you and Tali a longer period for... privacy, then you had requested."

"I vaguely remember this same situation happening several times in the past" Shepard noted, bemusement creeping into his voice as he argued halfheartedly. "I also remember telling you and the rest of the crew to stop deciding to note wake me up when I specifically instructed."

"I will try to remember that in the future" the AI replied, in tone that Shepard swore contained a hint of sarcasm.

Shaking his head with a sigh, Shepard nudged the quarian curled at his side. "Come on Tali, time to get up."

"Mmmh, five more minutes." Tali mumbled "Or maybe ten..."

"Come on, we've overslept" Shepard chucked, nudging her again.

Groggily Tali rolled over, shaking her head against sleep. "How long?" she half-mumbled, raising a slim hand to rub the sleep from her eyes.

"About three hours longer then we should have."

"Crew decided to not wake us again?"

"Apparently."

Sighing the quarian rose up to sit upright, slipping out from under the cover and sliding out of bed a moment later. "How long until we reach the Citadel?"

"Two hours" he replied, swinging his legs over the edge of the bed and pushed himself off the bed; making his way over to the cabin's shower. By the time he had finished his shower and shaved, Shepard found that Tali had almost finished putting on her exosuit. After pulling on his own cloths, the spectre took a moment to help her finish securing the last few seals, planting a kiss on the faceplate of her helmet once they had finished.

"Well, I better head down to engineering." Tali said, lowering her head to rest her face mask against his forehead. "You?"

"I think I will head down to the armory, unpack the equipment we brought from home" Shepard answered, breaking the contact and the both turned and headed to the elevator.

The elevator dinged as it came to a stop on the fourth deck. "Well, here's my stop." Tali said, stepping out of the elevator, reaching back to hit the button to send the lift down to the cargo-hold behind her.

"Have fun." Shepard grinned as the doors shut behind her, the elevator descending moments later. Stepping out into the hanger bay, Shepard made his way over to the weapon's bench, raising a hand in greeting as James looked up from the weapon he was in the middle of repairing.

"Morning Loco, sleep well?"

"Yes I did, and for much longer then I had intended..." Shepard said with a sigh, making his over the the stored cargo piled in the left half of the bay. "I would normally say something about ignoring my orders, but I am going to assume that doing so with you would be as pointless as it was with EDI"

"I see you finally caught on," James smiled, returning to his work.

Retrieving two of the bags he and Tali had brought from their home on Rannoch, Shepard returned to the weapon's bench. Unzipping the bag after setting it on the bench, the spectre began unpacking the N7 armor contained within.

While his original armor had been destroyed during the Battle of London, Shepard had worn a succession of newer models of his original garb on the missions he had taken as a spectre over the years. Even so, it had been over eight years since first came into possession of the current set. _Not that it is outdated, not thanks to the all the upgrades and tricks Tali packed into this baby. _ To help him face the dangers and perils part of his career as a Spectre, the quarian engineer had augmented the armor with numerous devices and gadgets: such as boot-thrusters similar to those used by Cerberus soldiers, a ballistic knife concealed within each forearm of his suit that could be fired with a simple mechanical trigger, and gauntlets that could deliver a electric pulse through the palm that could overload electronics or act as a teaser; just to name a few.

Despite having already done so before leaving Rannoch, Shepard inspected and cleaned the armor as he unpacked it piece by piece. With one last careful inspection of the shield generators, he set the armor aside, satisfied with the armor's condition.

Retrieving the other bag from where it sat at his feet, Shepard unpacked three weapon cases of varying sizes, which he set on a unoccupied section of the weapon's bench. Unlocking several clasps of the medium sized case, Shepard opened the case and withdrew the assault rifle he had brought with him. Since he had given his Vindicator to Ria as a gift nearly a month before, the Spectre had brought a M-55 Argus from his personal collection of weapons.

After checking and cleaning the gun, Shepard set it aside and retrieved his next weapon, his M-98B Black Widow sniper rifle. Cleaning and assembling the rifle with practiced efficiently, Shepard tested its weight before setting it aside next to the assault rifle.

Lastly from the smallest case he withdrew his sidearm, a M-77 Paladin; which he began disassembling to clean each individual piece. As if on cue, EDI spoke over the ship's COMs right as the spectre finished snapping the last piece back into place. "Shepard, we will be arriving at the Citadel fifteen minutes from now."

"Gotcha, EDI" Shepard replied, slipping the now reassembled pistol into a holster at his belt. "Inform Tali and Kaidan that I need them to meet me at the airlock in ten minutes."

After stowing his gear into a nearby weapons locker Shepard made his way up to the airlock, finding Kaidan and Tali already waiting for him. After nodding Kaidan in greeting, Shepard moved to stand next to Tali as the three waited for the decontamination cycle to complete (a process that still took far too long in his opinion). After what seemed like a eternity, the airlock slid open, allowing the three to enter into the Citadel's docking bay.

No sooner had they disembarked, Shepard heard a familiar voice call out to them.

"Is there a reason my two best friends decided to come to the Citadel and didn't tell me?"

Shepard spun around, grinning as he saw the owner of the all-too familiar voice. "Garrus!" he exclaimed as he embraced his friend in a brief back slapping hug. "How did you know we were going to be here? I was under the impression that the mission I am on was top secret."

"I have my sources." the turian laughed. "And Tali, good to see you managed to keep this fool out of trouble. Or, at-least I assume so, given he hasn't managed to cripple or disfigure himself since we last met."

"You know John, its a full time job to keep him alive." Tali laughed, embracing the turian as Shepard had done.

"Two best friends huh? I see how it is, Garrus." Kaidan teased, moving to shake Garrus' hand after he broke free of Tali's hug.

"Sorry Kaidan, no offense to you was meant. Its just hard to compete with Team Dextro." Garrus smiled, turning to Shepard to add "Though I still have no idea why you choose that name, you aren't even dextro-amino based."

"I thought that "Team Shepard" would be a bit too egotistical," Shepard grinned.

"We can head back to my apartment if you would like? Or do you have other pressing business to attend to?"

"We have a meeting with the Council, but not for another two hour"

Nodding Garrus waved for them to follow him "Good, that way we can all talk in private... there are some things we need to discuss that we can't risk being overheard by the wrong people."

It only took a few minutes for them to reach the turian's home, the four discussing more mundane matters as they walked. After arriving at the small apartment Shepard, Tali, and Kaidan took seats around a table while Garrus locked the door behind them.

"So, seeing as you manage to find out my arrival, let alone my mission; how much to you already know, oh-informed-one?" Shepard asked once Garrus had taken a seat in a chair opposite of him.

"Well, I know our old "friends" Cerberus are not quite as dead as we thought. Oh and they are after some ancient piece of technology that knowing our luck is probably some sort of doomsday weapon or another backdoor into the citadel. You know, the usual."

Shepard nodded. "You also know of Ria's involvement?"

The turian paused for a moment as he gave Shepard a apprehensive look that concerned the spectre. Taking a deep breath the Turian nodded slowly. "Ya, about that... the reason a certain turian might have heard everything he told you from your daughter and Laura. It is also possible that he could have learned that the two of them had decided to discover what Cerberus was after on their own. He also _might_ have given them a bit of aid when they came said turian for help, such as helping them contact the Shadow Broker before giving them access to a state-of-the-art ship and crew so they could act on the information had found regarding Cerberus's plans."

For several disbelieving seconds Shepard stared blankly at Garrus, trying desperately to pull together a coherent response.

"You what!?" he, Tali, and Kaidan exclaimed in unison as they finally managed to put their thoughts into words.

"Hey, it was their idea. I just game them some help they badly needed."

"Gave them some help? You not only let my daughter go after Cerberus, but encouraged them." Kaidan exclaimed.

Garrus raised his hands in surrender. "In my defense, I also let Tarran go with them; so I am in more or less the same situation as you are. Besides, you and I know full well nothing I could have said would stop them, so the best way I could help them was to improve their chances of success, so..." The turian's words were cut short as Tali delivered a loud, hard clap across the side of his face

"Ya...I probably deserved that" Garrus grimaced, rubbing the side of his face.

"Damn right you did, you bosh'tet. You''ll be lucky if I don't end up doing more then that to you."

Putting a hand on his bondmate's shoulder to calm her down, Shepard spoke to Garrus in a surprisingly calm tone. "Garrus, why don't you tell us exactly what happened. I trust that you would have only acted in the manner you have if you truly believes it was the best course of action."

It took nearly a hour for Garrus to explain all of the events that had taken on the Citadel a few days ago, of Ria, Laura, and Tarran's assault on a Cerberus hideout, of their race to rescue the quarian Kel'Valah, and of the prothean data disk. He told them all they had learned from Liara, and of how they planned to find the Darkforge before Cerberus did. Lastly he told them of how he had given Ria command of the _Invisible_and were now on their way to Omega."

They sat in silence after he had finished, all digesting what they had been told. After what seemed like a eternity, Shepard spoke. "I agree with your judgment on this, Garrus. I don't like this at all, but I agree. Tali, what are your thoughts?"

"As much as I worry about her safety and hate how much danger this puts her in, Ria can handle herself. I also know her well enough to agree that there is nothing you could have done to dissuade her, Garrus, so it is probably for the best that you helped her and the others as much as you did." Tali answered, before adding, "But don't think you got off easy, Vakarian. You and I will have to discuss this in detail later."

"I don't like it much either, but we can't change things now." Kaidan sighed, "All we can do now is do out part to stop Cerberus and hope for them best."

"Agreed, if they to be given the best chance of succeeding we need to do everything we can do to stop Cerberus's plans and count on them to do the same thing." Shepard said with a nod, standing up.

"Glad you I am going to live to see another then. Now I get to look forward to fighting Cerberus again, just like old times." Garrus said with a smile.

"Your coming with us? But what of your duties here?" Shepard asked in surprise.

"I got some extended vacation time... by which I mean a forced leave of absence on account of "blatant and irresponsible use of authority"; so I might as well tag along with you for awhile, for old time sake."

"There's no one I would rather have at my side, Garrus." Shepard nodded, happy that his old friend would be joining him. "Though you realize this puts you on the same ship as a certain enraged quarian, who I would like to point out still has a shotgun."

Garrus's smile faded as he glanced from Shepard to Tali, the quarian giving him mischievous glare. "...well crap, didn't think that one through. I'm doomed, aren't I?"

* * *

Author's Note

Well, everyone, I am finally back from my vacation (Well, I have been back for four days now...it took me awhile to write this chapter, okay.) and am now back to writing. Sorry if this chapter is a bit shorter then normal, the next one will be much longer, which will hopefully make up for it.

Just a head up: I will be starting college in a about four weeks, at which point I am not sure if I will be able to continue putting out a new chapter every week. I might shift to a every other week schedule, I don't really know yet.


	10. Chapter 10: Eden Prime

_4/16/2210_

"We will be arriving at Eden Prime in thirty minutes, Shepard" Joker announced as Shepard stepped entered into the Normandy's helm.

It had eight hours since the Normandy had reached the Citadel, the Normandy leaving and setting out for the colony only a couple of hours after they had arrived. The meeting with the council had been for the most part tediously uneventful. After spending far too long reaffirming details both parties already knew, the Council had "recommended" that the spectre start his search on Eden Prime, the site of Cerberus' second attack in the past week.

The spectre nodded, checking the straps securing his armor in place, having retrieved his weapons and donned his armor a few minute earlier. "Good, bring us in close and quiet; we don't know if Cerberus still has any ships in the area or not. We're the first ones on the scene since the attack, so be ready for anything."

"Aye Commander. Hard to believe the Alliance hasn't sent anyone to assist the colony. You would think that would be on the scene within a day or so, not sitting around for nearly five days, especially given which colony was attacked."

"Normally they would be, but the Council pushed for us to be the first ones there and delayed the Alliance from taking any action. However, the Alliance forces deployed elsewhere on the planet were ordered to prepare and secure the rest of the planet against further attacks. Only the dig site remains unsecured."

"A lot of trouble to avoid disturbing a few pieces of evidence," Joker noted.

"I agree, the Council should have let the Alliance send help" Shepard said with a scowl. "I forgot how much I hated this, having to sacrifice the well-being of a few for the greater good... but I suppose the Council is probably right, this may be our best chance at picking up on Cerberus' trail. If we don't find anything, it could cost us days or even weeks, time we can't let Cerberus have."

"Well, at-least if the original fails we still have the second "Team Shepard" to fall back on."

"Let hope it doesn't come to that, I would rather Ria's team avoid needing to risk themselves as much as I can."

"Understood Commander, optimistic denial it is." the pilot said with a shake of his head."

"Shouldn't you be focusing on piloting the ship?" Shepard countered with a glare.

"Just pointing out the obvious; someone needs to."

"Joker..."

"Aye Commander, shutting up now."

**. . . . .**

Shepard brought his Argus into firing position as he stepped out of the shuttle, searching for any sign of hostiles. "All clear"

Tali and Garrus hopped down from the Kodiak moments later, shotgun and sniper rifle held at the ready.

"Our priority is to look for anything Cerberus may have left behind" he ordered. "We don't know if anyone is still here. While it is possible Cerberus has already left we can't count on that possibility; keep your guard up and assume hostile resistance;"

"Assume the worst and hope to be pleasantly surprised, you have learned something from me" Garrus joked, gazing down the scope of his sniper rifle as he scanned for any sign of movement.

Shepard smiled briefly before activating his comms "Kaidan, is your team in position?"

"_James, EDI, and I are all at the edge of the living area for the dig-site's workers, ready to move in on your signal."_

"Good, keep in radio contact, report all progress."

"_Aye Shepard, over and out"_

"We are going into the dig-site itself, while Kaidan's team takes the living quarters and other facilities along the edge," Shepard said, turning back to the turian and quarian.

They made their way deep into the dig-site, repelling down into the excavation-site rather then spend time finding another way down. The further they went, the more uneasy Shepard became. Something did not seem right, but what exactly he couldn't quite place.

Finally, Garrus spoke, the same realization hitting the turian at the same time as the spectre. "Where are all the bodies, we should have seen some sign of the attack by now. Someone must have moved them, which they would only do..."

"If someone was sticking around." Shepard finished. "That means Cerberus must still be here."

Falling silent and with redoubled caution the trio made there way further into the dig-site. Soon voices could be heard faintly, coming from around a bend in a excavated area ahead of them. Signaling for Garrus and Tali to halt, Shepard slowly crept forward slowly, peaking carefully around a corner. Eight Cerberus soldiers could be seen, idling as they guarded the path into the center of the excavation site. For the most part they appeared to be inattentive, the men chatting amongst themselves.

"Eight Cerberus troopers up ahead" Shepard whispered as he turned back to his squad. "They don't seem to expect any trouble, it will be easy to catch them by surprise. We hit them hard and fast, on my mark."

Understood" Tali and Garrus whispered, readying their own weapons.

Counting down visibly and slowly on his fingers, Shepard motioned them to attack. The three leapt around the corner, Shepard crouching low as his assault rifle belched a steady steam of three round bursts. Three soldiers died before they could even react, two falling in sprays of blood as the spectre's assault rifle tore through their armor with little resistance, a third falling as a tight cluster of shotgun rounds blasted through the man's torso. Another fell moments later as he reached for his rifle, his head exploding into cloud of scarlet and gore.

"Ha, headshot" Garrus said with a hint of satisfaction in his voice.

While the remaining Cerberus soldiers had managed to retrieve their weapons, seeing half their number killing within seconds left them in a state of panic, firing their rifles full auto. Darting forward as rounds peppered the air around him, a few managing to connect only to be deflected be his kinetic barriers, Shepard threw himself into a roll to avoid the bulk of the remaining barrage. Coming out of the roll in-front of one of the meant, Shepard slashed at the man with his omni-blade, the fabricated weapon tearing through armor and flesh alike with brutal ease.

Spinning to face another soldier mere feet away, the spectre pumped two bursts into the man's chest. Before that soldier even hit the ground Shepard had already spun to face the remaining to men, lowering his weapon when he found they had already been dealt with by the rest of his squad.

"I'm impressed Shepard, even after twenty odd years you don't appear to have gone soft." Garrus chuckled, ejecting a spent thermal clip from his rifle and snapping another into place.

"You haven't seen his ridicules training routine, he probably spends about twenty hours a week in the training room or the firing range." Tali explained with a laugh. "Besides, its not like he hasn't done anything in the past twenty years, his last large assignment was only five years ago."

Shepard winced at the Tali's mentioning of that mission, unbidden memories and images flashing before him. Shepard brought a hand toward his face, as if he could somehow wipe the nightmarish visions away with his hand, only for it to bump into the faceplate of his helmet.

Realizing what she had said, Tali game him a part apologetic and part concerned look. John?"

Closing his eyes Shepard look a slow, deliberate breath; with a effort managing to regain his composure. "Its nothing, I'm fine." he said with forced conviction.

Tali reach out to put a hand on his arm, gazing into his eyes. "No, you aren't. I am sorry, I wasn't thinking and..."

"Tali, I am fine. We have more pressing concerns." the spectre said sternly, pulling away.

Garrus briefly flashed him a questioning look, Tali gesturing for him to drop the subject with a shaking her head.

"We are going to meet heavier resistance going forward, watch for ambushed or any other surprises Cerberus may have in store for us." Shepard ordered, gesturing for them to continue forward. "Move out."

**. . . . .**

Shepard's expectation turned out to be right on the mark, the trio having to fight their way through increasing numbers of Cerberus soldiers the further they went. The periodic status reports from Kaidan informed him that the other spectre's team had met similar resistance to his own.

Finally reaching the center of the excavated area, the three found themselves up against heavier resistance yet. Here Cerberus had set up barriers and other fortifications, from which a dozen Cerberus soldiers were entrenched. Automated turrets sat outcroppings of rock behind them from where they could fire-upon attacker almost anywhere in the area.

"Lovely" Garrus muttered, pulling his head back behind cover right as dozens of rounds filled the area it had been a second before. "Take one step out and we will be torn to shreds.

Shepard scowled as he nodded in agreement; soon after entering the area he, Garrus, and Tali had quickly become pinned down, having been forced to take cover as a result of overwhelming assault unleashed upon them. "We need to find a way to take care of those turrets" Shepard shouted, mind rapidly considering his options. Seconds passed as a idea took form, the spectre smiling as he considered it. "Tali, when I break cover I need you to hack the turret on the right, have it target the turret on the left. Garrus, I need you to hit the turret in the middle with everything you got." Shepard ordered, swapping his Argus out for his Blackwidow.

Activating his omni-tool Shepard sprinted from cover. Shimmering blue-green light appeared around him, his as his boosted kinetic barrier causing his shields to appear visible to the naked eye. Like he planned all three turrets targeted him, the spectre counting on his boosted shields and cybernetic enhanced speed to protect him for long enough for Tali and Garrus to have the opportunity they needed.

The sound of gunfire briefly dipped in intensity as one of the turrets stopped firing before resuming its barrage, only this time upon one of the other turrets. A rapid series of sniper shots cried out and Garrus began firing upon one of the turrets, his Valiant sniper rifle collapsing the shields of the middle turret within seconds. Spinning to a halt behind a low pile of rubble, Shepard raised his own rifle, releasing one round after the other within the span seconds, finishing off the now shieldless and damaged turrets.

Reloading with practiced quickness, Shepard located one of the two combat engineers amongst the Cerberus soldiers. A well placed shot tore through the engineer's shields and embedded itself into his skull, the man falling in a spray of blood. Firing his rifle once more, Shepard pumped the remaining two rounds into the remaining engineer, the first depleting his shields before the second finished him off.

With their technological support gone the remaining Cerberus soldiers were unable to put up much of a fight, Shepard and his team able to pick them off one by one with little difficulty. After finishing off the last soldier, Shepard motions for his team to move

"I wonder why Cerberus set up proper defenses here when they didn't anywhere else. These defense create a half circle out from the cliff face, so its not to defend a path further into the dig-site. There must be something here they were protecting" Garrus pondered as he began picking his way through the area.

"Must be, begin searching for anything of value." Shepard replied, collapsing his rifle before slinging across his back.

"There's not much back there, just a few crates. You would think anything important enough to allocate setting up fortifications would be stored in something more secure."

"Search them anyways, no mater how unlikely. We have to make sure we dont miss any... "

"Uh John? I think I found what they were guarding" Tali called out from where she stood right up to the cliff-face, her gaze downward.

Shepard made his way over to where the quarian stood, what she had discovered coming into sight. The ground was slit open a in front of her into a gap several feet in diameter. So deep was the crevice, Shepard was unable to make out any details other then that it seems to widen into a much larger chamber. A faint glow of dim lights could be seen, indicating that the area had been explored.

"Ya, that would probably be it" Shepard said, tearing his gaze away from the edge. "Good work, Tali."

"What, you wouldn't have noticed the big hole in the ground." Tali teased.

"He probably would have accidentally fallen in." Garrus laughed, coming up to stand beside them.

Shaking his head with bemusement, Shepard began preparing for their decent down into the opening.

**. . . . .**

With the same climbing equipment they used earlier, they repelled down deeper into dimly lit chasm bellow. Reaching the bottom they found themselves in a long, wide hallway; which Shepard realized was part of the prothean compound that had not collapsed over the past 50,000 years. Lights placed by excavation team illuminated the area, the source of the glow they had seen from above. Inactive stasis-pods lined the walls, having lost power long ago. Massive metal doors blocks the way forward, the passage stopping in a dead end behind them.

"Tali, see if you can find a way to get those doors open, Cerberus was protecting this area for a reason. Whatever they are after must be through there."

No sooner had he spoken those words there was a groaning sound following by a deep grinding as the colossal metal gates slid open. A massive mech could slowly came into sight as the gate receded, its large cannon raising into a firing position.

The mech's appearance was reminiscent of the Atlas Mechs once employed by Cerberus, following the same basic design. Unlike the Atlas, this mech appeared to be more heavily armored, its cockpit covered in think metal rather then glass (the pilot likely relying on external sensors and a display than his own sight) and had a large mini-gun in addition to its cannon.

Time seemed to slow to a crawl as Shepard took in his surroundings with lighting speed. They were exposed, easy prey for the mech's heavy weapons. Some of the larger piles of rubble or crates could be used as cover, but all were too far away for them to reach before it could fire.

The mech aimed its cannon at Tali, preparing to fire upon the exposed quarian. Knowing there was no way she could avoid the attack, Shepard threw himself between her and the mech, his omni-tool flaring to life as he moved. Landing in a crouch Shepard brought his omni-tool up between himself and the mech, a glowing orange shield materializing in front of him just as the mech fired. The shell connected with the omni-shield with a blinding flash and ear-shattering retort. The force of the blast tossed him into the air, the spectre landing in a crumpled heap almost twenty feet back.

Dazed, the commander slowly pushed himself up to one knee, his muscles screaming in protest. Clutching his head, Shepard groaned as fell awareness returned, his surroundings sluggishly slipping back into focus. Thankfully he appeared to be mostly unharmed, his omni-shield and kinetic barriers taking the brunt of the blast so that it had done little more then thrown him back from where he had stood.

Shepard turned his attention back to the battle before him. He was relieved to find that Tali appeared to be unharmed, having not only been untouched by the mech's attack but also avoided being hit by the spectre himself when he was tossed back. Her active omni-tool was held before her, pointed directly at the mech. Following the path of her omni-tool, Shepard saw that the mech stood immobilized, unable to do more then move in short, shuttering spasms thanks to the quarian's hacking attempt.

Looking away from the mech, Shepard turned his attention to Garrus, who was crouched behind three large, reenforced storage crates . Like Tali, the turian had also reacted quickly to the appearance of the mech, firing his shot after shot of his rifle as fast as he could.

Tali turned to rush over to Shepard, the spectre waving her away and gesturing for her to move to nearby cover. Forcing himself to his feet, Shepard reactivated his omni-shield and drew a grenade from his belt. At that point the mech's pilot appeared to have finally regained control of his mech, leveling its cannon at the spectre once more. Timing his throw just right, the grenade struck the mech and detonated a slit second before the mech fired; the explosion knocking off its aim and sending the rocket flying past.

Since its cannon had to reload before it could fire again, the mech raised its minigun and fired upon the commander. Covering himself with his shield, Shepard drew his pistol and opened fire. Rounds pinged off the mech' shields as the human slowly sidestepped towards nearby cover, his omni-shield protecting him from the mech's assault.

His gun clicking empty moments later, Shepard dropped his pistol back onto the magnetic clamp at his side and deactivated his omni-shield as the mech ceased firing. The mech leveled its now reloaded canon, preparing to fire upon the now exposed human, who from all appearances would be as defenseless to the attack as Tali had been.

Fortunately for himself, Shepard was not an ordinary human.

Moving with cybernetically augmented speed, Shepard leapt into a roll; the rocket flying past as it missed him by a hair's breath. Coming out of the roll with a grenade already in hand, the commander tossed the explosive as he ducked behind the cover his roll had brought him to. A shot from Garrus's sniper rifle and a cluster of rounds from Tali's eviscerator struck the mech as the grenade detonated; the machine's shields crumpling beneath the combined assault.

Their victory, however, was short lived; the mech's shields returning second later as they rapidly recharged. "Dammit! How can that thing's shields be powerful enough to take that much punishment and still recover that quickly" Shepard shouted, aiming his question at Tali.

"They aren't, at-least I don't think so," Tali explained. "The shields a could be fairly weak, but by recharging at such a rapid rate withstand immense amount of force without failing. To hurt it we would need to hit it faster then its shields can regenerate."

"Which we don't have the firepower to do..." Shepard said, frowning. Weighting his options, Shepard could only think of one, desperate course of action that could have any chance of success. "Tali, Garrus, I am about to do something incredibly stupid and risky. When I tell tell you to, I need you two to drain and overload that thing's shields, understood?"

Not waiting for them to answer, Shepard leapt from cover and rushed at the mech, moving with ever ounce of synthetically enhanced speed he could muster. The mech swung a arm at him as his drew close, the spectre avoiding the attack by dropping down to slide under the blow. Coming in low he brought both hand up to connect with mech, the emitters on his palms transferring a electric pulse that disrupted and weakened the mech's shields. Rolling to the side, he managed to move just in time to avoid being stomped flat as the mech's foot smashed down on the space he had just occupied moments before.

"Now!"

Withdrawing from cover, the quarian and turian's omni-tools flashed; Tali draining away the mech's shields a split second before Garrus' overload hit. The shield emitters on the mech's back began to spark and crackle with electricity, completely fried by the repeated overload attempts.

Rising to his feet, Shepard ducked under another crushing swipe of the mech's arm. Omni-blade springing to life,Shepard slashed at the knee joint of the mech's leg, causing it the shutter as it threaten to collapse under its own weight. Side stepping a downward strike, Shepard spun around the mech and slashing twice across the mech's back, exploding its power supply. Drawing his last grenade, Shepard wedged it between the torn armor.

Sprinting away, the spectre dove to the ground, covering his head with his arms as the grenade sent the mech's power supply into critical overload. The mech exploded in a blinding flash, unleashing a wave of head that struck at the commander's back and sending shards of molten metal raining down around him.

"Everyone okay?" Shepard asked as he slowly rose to his feet, dusting himself off.

"Are we okay? This coming from the bosh'tet you decided to charge a heavy mech and fight it close up." Tali scolded. "Why is it that you insist on taking the most reckless and suicidal actions you can when faced with anything that doesn't immediately fall over and die?"

"I like to think its part of my charm. Besides, I would think you would be use to it by now, Tali; being married to me and all." Shepard grinned at Tali from behind his helmet, making his way back over to where the quarian stood.

"Yes, and I suppose I am also use to that stupid grin I know your helmet is hiding." Tali signed, her annoyance and angry breaking away, "Honestly, sometimes I feel like you are trying to get yourself killed."

"So you do still worry about me." Shepard chuckled, moved to stand opposite of Tali, slowly bumping his helmet against hers affectionately.

"Do you want me to go ahead, or are you two done arguing...or flirting; I am actually not quite sure which you were doing." Garrus asked, shouting back from where he stood near the now open gateway, before turning and walking through

"Come on, lets make sure the bosh'tet doesn't get to far ahead" Shepard sighed, pulling away from Tali.

Following after Garrus, Shepard found himself in another mostly intact section of the prothean compound that stretched ahead unbroken for a large distance, a much smaller doorway visible at the far end. In several places other passageways broke off from this main hallway, but all were cut off my impassable piles of rubble, having collapsed thousands of years ago. The mech must have been Cerberus' last attempt to defense against his team, for no more Cerberus soldiers materialized to resist them as they made their way forward.

The final gate was sealed, delaying entry for several minutes before Tali managed to override the lock. Inside was a wide, hexagonal shapes chamber; massive display screens lining three of far most walls. A raised dais stood in the center of the room. Modern equipment lay scattered around the room, cables connecting them to the ancient hardware to facilitate attempts to access any data they may contain.

"This must have been some sort of control room, for the whole facility" Garrus said, moving forward to investigate one of the display screens. "And it seems to be mostly intact."

"No wonder Cerberus tried to keep control of this area." Shepard said, stepping up to the dais. Upon it sat a control console, in which was centered small raised pillar of metal. This device was eerily reminiscent of the beacon that had been found on this very planet decades ago. Cautiously, the spectre reached out for it, his hand halting less then a inch away. With a deep breath, he pushed forward, the tips of his fingers connecting with the hard surface.

_The entire world seemed to fall away in a rush of confused sights, sounds, and thoughts. Then, as suddenly as it had faded, clarity returned to the spectre. He found himself in the very same room he had stood moment before, only now seeing it as if he was looking down upon it from high up. Prothean soldiers in their ornate, red armor rushed around the rooms, technicians leaning over control panels as they rapidly processed and evaluated incoming data. _

_The doors slid open as three protheans entered, the foremost of the three wearing armor more ornate then the others. The lead prothean stepped up onto the dais, his posture carrying a sense of authority over the others in the room. _

"_Victory, status" the prothean demanded; who Shepard realized with a start was Javik._

"_Commander, we have an incoming transmission from out military outpost on Panthos. Reaper forces have been detected on their long-range scanners, they will be under attack in less then a hour." Replied the VI, whose holographic avatar appeared in front of the prothean commander._

"_Establish connection with the transmission."_

_One of the display screens became filled with static, before clearing to reveal a female prothean in __black and red armor, who saluted the transmission had fully come into focus. "Commander Javik."_

"_Lieutenant Viltri, report." Javik ordered quickly._

"_Three ours ago our location was transmitted to Reaper forced in the Aker system by indoctrinated agents amongst our number. We don't know if the traitors only managed to send this outpost's location, or if other of our few remaining strongholds have also been compromised. Even now Reaper forces may know of the status facility."_

"_Damn them, we can't let the Reapers reach this facility. Without the preservation of our people gathered here, the Empire will never rise once more."_

"_I have mustered what little of our forces remaining here to delay the Reapers, but we will be not be able to resist for long"_

"_Preserve all priority data and equipment you have in the underground vaults. If the Reapers do not discover it, we can utilize it in the coming empire."_

"_Understood. For the Empire" Viltri answered, saluting and the transmission ended._

"_For the Empire"_

The scene fell away as Shepard's eyes shot open as he sucked in a gasping breath. The commander found himself standing upon the dais, once more in the present day.

"John?" Tali asked, turning to gave at him questioningly. Shepard realized that while the vision had left like it had lasted minutes, only seconds had passed since touching the device.

"I'm fine... I must have touched a memory containment device. I saw a vision of events that took place before this base came under attack...I saw Javik talking to another prothean... there wasn't much else." Shepard answered haltingly, shaking his head against the confused , alien memories that still clouded him mind.

"First day officially back on the job and you already have had your brain messed with. Fate must really love messing with you, Shepard" Garrus said with a grim smile.

"What did you learn? Anything that can help us?" Tali asked.

"Something about "critical data and equipment being" stored in a underground vault under a base about to come under attack. Where this base was, I couldn't tell. I didn't recognize the planet's name, nor the system... though the protheans likely had different names, so its probably no surprise I didn't."

"What now then?" Garrus asked.

"See if you can get anything out of the equipment Cerberus left behind. After that we head back to the Normandy figure out our next move."

**. . . . .**

"I don't like this, how do we know this planet you saw in this vision has something Cerberus is after. We could be going on a wild goose chase, which lets Cerberus go unopposed somewhere else." James said, crossing his arms as he leaned back in his chair

After returning to the Normandy, Shepard had gathered his team in the conference room to debrief and discuss what had been discovered on Eden Prime. Both he and Kaidan had gone over what their respective teams had discovered. On the other spectre's part, there was little of note to say: his team had found little of note in the living area of the dig-site. After Kaidan has finished, Shepard explained what he, Tali, and Garrus had discovered; and what he had seen in his vision.

"Its a chance we have to take. We have no other clear direction but this... we will have to take it and hope for the best." Shepard explained.

"A pity Javik isn't around, from what you saw in the vision it looks like he may know something about what Cerberus is after, or at the very least tell us what planet that military outpost was on." Kaidan said rubbing his temples wearily.

"Sadly the prothean hasn't been seen in... how many years was it? Five? Six? ...since the end of the Reaper war." Garrus answered, "Point is none of us know where he is, not even the Shadow Broker."

"Agreed, and even if we could find Javik, we don't have to time to track him down." Shepard said frowning. "I am going to be sending what we extracted from Cerberus' equipment to Liara. With luck the location of the planet mentioned in the vision is somewhere in that data. If it is there, then Liara is our best bet of accessing it."

Shepard gazed over his assembled crew, and seeing that none had anything to add, moved to stand up. " Until Liara gets back to us with the data there is not much we can do but wait." He sighed, "Return to your stations and wait for further updates; you are dismissed."


	11. Chapter 11: Omega

_Date: 4/17/2210_

"_Creator-Shepard, there is a incoming transmission over secure channels from Doctor T'Soni. I have established a connection to the ship's comm room."_

"Thank you Core" Ria said, relieved. With little more then two hours until they reached Omega, the quarian had been worried that Liara hadn't been able to discover any additional info on Cerberus's activities on Omega before they arrived at the station.

Stepping down from the CIC's raised dais, Ria made her way to the Invisible's comm room. Moving to stand in front of the hologram projector, the quarian found herself impatiently bouncing on the tips of her toes as a minute crawled by before the projected image of the Shadow Broker fully materialized.

"Ria" the asari greeted with a tilt of her head.

"Doctor T'Soni" Ria replied in kind, fighting to keep her apprehensiveness out of her voice. "What do you have for us."

"Right to the point of things I see," the asari said with a weary smile, "Yesterday one of my agents on Omega was able too locate and infiltrate an abandoned apartment complex Cerberus was using as a base of operations. Before he was discovered, he managed to transmit several terabytes of data, including intelligence reports and orders for the Cerberus agents on the station. While Cerberus has undoubtedly moved to a new location by now, we now know what they are after."

Ria slowly nodded "What is it that they after?"

"Not what, but whom." The asari briefly glanced at an unseen display off to her side, reading it before continuing "Cerberus are after a somewhat notorious human biotic, a mercenary named Marcus Daron; their agents under orders to capture him alive."

"Why? What reason would Cerberus have for capturing a mercenary?"

"I do not know, but Cerberus doesn't do anything without a reason. Though if one thing is clear from the intelligence reports my agent managed to send, it's that Cerberus believes Daron's capture will somehow help them find the Darkforge. How or why, it was not said; so we can only speculate."

"What can you know about him, this mercenary, I mean?" Ria asked, thoughtfully.

"Surprisingly little," Liara frowned, "I have near to nothing on his past, or activities up until a few years ago. Daron began work as a mercenary nearly a decade ago, running with several smaller mercenary bands over the course of a few years. Eventually, he began talking jobs on his own; building a reputation for taking on missions that are considered too dangerous by most merc groups, let alone a single mercenary."

Liara once more glanced over to unseen display, "While reports on his abilities vary, it appears that Daron is a incredibly powerful biotic. There are rumors that this "unnatural" aptitude is due to extensive cybernetic implants, but I was unable to find anything that validates or disproves these theories."

"So, we are going to have to find Daron before Cerberus does. Whatever the reason Cerberus is after him, we can't let them succeed. Whats more, if Cerberus are right and this mercenary can somehow help find the Darkforge, convincing him to help us could allow us one step ahead of Cerberus."

"My thoughts exactly" Liara said with a brief smile, typing on a unseen keyboard before glancing back to Ria. "I have sent a dossier containing everything I know about Daron, as well as the data my agent managed to recover. Once you reach Omega, you will have to speak to Aria T'Loak. She can tell you more about Daron then myself, and claims to know where you can find him."

"...Aria? B-but, isn't that too dangerous? I don't have the experience to deal with her. W-what if she tries to manipulate us, or sends us into a trap?"

"I wish you didn't have to as well, but Aria would only agree to help if you met her in person. But, while Aria undoubtedly has something to gain from all this, I do not believe you are in any real danger. She hates Cerberus as much as anyone else alive... and also I do not believe would try anything to anger the great Commander Shepard" Liara said, a small smile crossing her features at the last part.

"Okay, if we have no other choice...and you think we will be fine; then I will do it." Ria said, trying her best to sound confident as the asari was.

"I wish you luck, Ria. I will contact you if I find anything else."

As the hologram of the asari faded away, Ria leaned forward on the console, still trying to absorb all that she had been told. "Core?" Ria called out at last.

"Yes Creator-Shepard?"

"Tell Jalin, Tarran, Laura, Kel meet in the comm room in ten minutes, I need to brief them before we arrive on Omega.

**. . . . .**

"You know, the first thing everyone mentions when describing Omega is the stench, and now I can see why." Laura grumbled as they exited the station's docking bay.

"Come on, its not that bad" Ria retorted, rechecking the straps holding her armor into place. _Well, the weight of the armor will take some getting use too,but its a small complaint compared to the how much it will help keep me alive_ the quarian though as she sifted uncomforably, checking her other new equipment one last time. Besides her new armor, Ria had taken a Eviscerator shotgun from the armory and an upgraded to her omni-tool's fabricators, allowing it to create a omni-blade for when she found herself in hand to hand combat.

"So says the one person of our little group who can has olfactory filters they can disable." Tarran chuckled, jogging the last couple steps to catch up with the two woman; Jalin following a few steps behind the turian.

"That's not true... Kel can also." Ria retorted, grinning behind her helmet.

"Yes, but hes not here, is he? So your point is invalid." Tarran reminded her with a self satisfied smirk. Due to his broken ankle not yet fully healed, it had decided it was best that Kel stay aboard the Invisible.

"Oh, tough it out you too, I don't hear Jalin complaining."

"Yes, but I have been to Omega on several occasions... the smell tends to be one of the more challenging aspects of the station most newcomers to get used too." The salarian offered.

Moving quickly to avoid spending any more time on the station then they had to, they made their way to Afterlife, the club that served as Aria's base of operations on the station. Their arrival must have been expected, the nightclub's bouncer motioning for them to go in without having to wait in line. They met no resistance as they made their way through the night club until a batarian guard moved to stop bar their way at the entrance to the booth overlooking the club's upper level. "That's close enough. I am under orders that only the quarian is allowed in to see Aria, the other three of you will have to wait outside."

"That's bullshit, if Ria is going in so are we" Laura scowled, taking a step closer to the guard, glaring at the batarian.

"Laura, its okay" Ria said, placing a hand on her friend's shoulder, "I will be fine, just wait here."

Begrudgingly Laura stepped back to the side as Ria moved past the batarian bodyguard and climbed the stairs leading into the booth. Inside and past four more heavily armed bodyguards an asari sat , one leg crossed over the other as she sat casually in her seat. In one hand she held a datapad that she was currently reading, while in the other she held a purple alcoholic beverage that Ria did not recognize.

The asari smiled smugly as the quarian entered, setting her data pad aside. "Ah, so this is the "great" Commander Shepard's daughter. Funny, I imagined you would be taller." Aria said, sizing up Ria from where she sat. "I was surprised when I found out that he had married a quarian, but then again, nothing about him was quite what I expected."

The asari gave her smile that oozed with arrogance as she motioned with her chin for Ria to sit in a unoccupied seat to her right. Ria slowly moved to sit, her eyes locked on Aria as she moved, fearing to even glance away for a minute.

"Oh calm down will you, if I wanted you dead I would have already tried by now."

Ria nodded slowly. _Dammit Ria, Aria is going to eat you alive _if_ you keep up the nervous naive little girl thing up any longer_. Taking to deep breath, Ria spoke again in what she hoped was a more confident tone, "I-I was told that you could tell me more about a mercenary we are looking for, a human biotic by the name of Marcus Daron."

"Ah yes, your father's friend, doctor T'Soni, has already told me about your little mission." Aria said, taking casually swirling the drink held in her right hand.

"So, what can you tell us?" Ria said, this time managing to avoid stuttering.

"Not as much as I would like; though I do know a bit more then what T'Soni told you. Daron first appeared in Omega about a decade ago, starting running with one of the smaller merc gangs on the station. Normally, no one would have noticed him; but his unusually powerful biotics. He quickly began to work his way up the criminal underworld, gaining more and more reputation. Then two years after arriving, he cut all ties to the group he had currently been working for; grew bored if I were to guess."

"That's when he began working on his own?"

"Yes, built up quite a reputation too. With his biotics, he could do alone what a mercenary band of a nearly dozen could together. Took mostly missions with a destructive bent: kill a well protected individual, destroy a competitor's base, or the like."

"How powerful are his biotics exactly?"

"Very. I haven't ever seen an human biotic that powerful except for that one that use to be part of your father's crew, Jack I think her name was." Aria explained. "The similarities between their abilities in fact, are uncanny. I had a suspicion that Daron's abilities might be the product of Cerberus meddling, but could never find any concrete evidence."

Ria nodded. "So where can I find him?"

"I don't know where he is now..." Aria said, pausing for effect, "but I do know where he will be. Last I heard, he had taken a job to kill a local mercenary leader, a krogan named Tharsk."

"From what you have said, that job sounds a little easy compared to those he usually takes." Ria asked?

Aria laughed."Oh, don't be fooled by what I said, that mission is the perfect match for his... talents."

"Why is that... though I suppose you are about to tell me aren't you." Ria said, so irritated by the asari's stalling that she respond on reflex without thinking about what she had said. _Oh keelah, why did you say that._

"Ah, so you have of a attitude? I like that, its much more fun then dealing with people who just grovel like idiots." Aria said with a smirk. "While not one of the most powerful mercenary groups,Tharsk's merc band has been growing in power and influence at a astounding rate over the past few years, and has made quite a few enemies. One of these enemies, a salarian named Meglin whose merc band is in direct completion with Tharsk's, has recently tried to have the krogan killed..."

The asari paused to take took a sip of her drink. "Two weeks ago Meglin hired a assassin to deal with Tharsk, but the krogan survived the attack. Since then Tharsk has holed himself up in his headquarters, turned the entire place into a fortress with half his mercenary band there guarding him. Any attack would be suicide, so Meglin hired Daron for the job."

"What can you tell us about the base?"

"It use to be a refinery back when there was active mining on this asteroid, changed hands over the centuries since then. The compound dug out of the asteroid itself, only way in or out is the front gates. If defended correctly it can become the perfect fortress...or perfect cage."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, that if I were Cerberus, I would wait right until Daron has reached his target before striking; surround and block the only way out. Not only would he already be fatigued from fighting, he would have no where to go back back through the forces waiting for him. If I where you, I would try to reach Daron before that happens, else you may not get another change. You don't have long, from what I heard Daron plans to go after Tharsk later today."

"Why are you giving us all this information without anything in return? What do you have to gain from all this?" Ria asked, as she move to stand.

"Its very simple really."The asari leaned forward, looking over her interlocked hands (in what was in Ria's opinion of overly dramatic fashion, not that she would dare say it out-loud) with a hint of cruel smile"Cerberus once tried to take this station away from me. If by helping you I can make Cerberus' collective lives a bit more hellish, I will gladly tell you what you need to know to do so."

Aria casually leaned back in her chair, continuing, "Besides, I have nothing to lose either way, keeping this to myself wouldn't benefit me any more or less than telling you."

The conversation drawing to a close, and not wanting to try Aria's patience by overstaying her welcome, Ria stood up making to leave. "Well, if what you said is true I better hurry. Thank you... for your help." Ria thanked haltingly.

"I will have one of my men drive you and your team to Tharsk's base, free of charge." Aria called out just before the quarian reached the door, Ria turning back to face the asari in surprise. Aria smiles smugly, explaining simply. "Think of it as repaying your father for all of the "help" he has given me in the past."

Ria was not quite sure how to react, her eyes meeting the asari's as she tried to read Aria's inscrutable expression. As last she nodded slowly "...Thank you."

Aria did not respond, simply leaning back into her chair and ginned smugly as the quarian left.

_**. . . . .**_

The skycar dropped them off some distance away from their destination, unable to get any closer due to the confined pathways leading to the base. Brief spurts of gunfire could be heard faintly from head of them

"Unless this area of Omega is just having a bad day, I would say the part has already started." Tarran muttered, pulling his rifle free from its magnetic clamps.

"We don't have much time then. If Aria is right, Cerberus will close in soon to cut of Daron's escape." Ria noted, drawing her own weapon and began running moving in the direction of the sound.

"Cerberus likely has placed agents throughout the area, only way they would know when the attack started and still be able to move into place in time. Cerberus will soon know we are here; we will certainly be spotted going in, if we have not been already... we have no other option though." Jalin warned, a faintly visible biotic barrier springing to life around the salarian as he, Laura, and Tarran followed.

"At least they won't be expecting us, maybe it will catch them off-guard." Ria offered.

Arriving at the foundry-turned-mercenary-base, Ria slowed to a halt as she caught sight to the entrance to the base.

"Holy shit" Laura said, coming to stop next to the quarian, "The reports about Daron's biotic abilities weren't exaggerated."

Based on the sight before them, Ria had to agree with her friend's analysis. The front gates of the base were hung at awkward angles, having been forcibly torn open. The bodies of a dozen mercenaries were scattered around the entrance, crushed under biotically flung projectiles or crumbled in heaps where they themselves had been tossed like a child's toy. Closer examination reveled that only two of the mercenaries sported gunshot wounds.

"Only a two to three bullet entry points, probably killed by a pistol, maybe marksman rifle." Tarran noted, glancing over one of the mercies not killed by a biotic attack.

"Likely pistol, Daron's dossier said he rarely employed any weapon other then pistols in conjunction with his biotics." Jalin answered, moving toward the entrance. "Hurry, we can't stay here too long

Heading inside, they soon saw that the interior of the base appeared no less devastated than the exterior. A handful of bodies could be seen scattered amongst mangled security mechs, both having been killed (or disabled on the mechs' part) in much the same manner as the mercenaries outside.

Two visible paths split off to either side at the far end of the room, blocks by heavy metal doors. Following in the path of destruction left in the biotic's wake, Ria drew closer to the door on the left. Unlike the one opposite, the door hung partially open, unable to fully close due to the security mech wedged between it.

"Hurry, he must have gone this way" Ria said, moving over to the doors control panel. As the doors slid open Ria saw following directly after the biotic was not a option, the hallway ahead of them blocked by heap of rubble from a collapsed ceiling and a roaring wall of fire fed by spewing gasses from a ruptured pipeline.

"_Det kazuat_," Ria cursed, "We have to find another way around."

"Let try the other door, hopefully it doesn't lead to a dead end" Tarran said, moving over to the control panel. "Damn, locked."

"Nothing I can't handle" Ria said, flashing a brief smile, setting her rifle and activating her omni-tool as she began her hacking attempt. It only took a few moments before she managed to override the door's locking mechanism. Standing up, Ria retrieved her weapon s the now unlocked door slid open to a long hallway that led deeper into a base. "Well that was a bit too easy, I expected their security to be a bit harder to crack."

"Lets not temp fate, shall we?" Tarran grumbled.

They moved quickly down the hallway, checking corners as they went before they came to another set of sealed doors. Coming to a halt in front of them, Ria boosted the audio-receivers of her suit, listening carefully; hearing voices faintly on the other side. "We have contacts ahead. I will open with a flashbang grenade, as soon as it detonates we go in fast and hard; take down anything that moves."

Drawing a flashbang grenade from her belt, Ria opened the doors and flung the small device into the room. The moment the grenade detonated, Ria burst into the room, quickly taking in her surroundings. Six mercenaries stood at the far end, partially covered by barricades that that had been placed at the far end of the room. Picking a target as she gazed down the scope of her father's vindicator, Ria fired off two three bursts at the closest mercenary; disruptor rounds cutting through the batarian's shields before tearing though him in a spray of red.

Behind her Laura's avenger pumped out a hail of rounds, cutting down another of the stunned mercs. A third's shields flashed brightly before fading; Tarran's overload allowing Jalin to finish off the now shieldless mech with a single shot of his Carnifex.

Taking cover behind disused machinery as the remaining mercs, Ria called out orders. "Laura, lay down covering fire. Jalin, hit them with your biotics to give me or Tarran a clear shot."

Waiting for Laura to begin firing, Ria broke cover and ran forward, switching to her shotgun as she ran. A purple glow enveloped one of then men as he was lifted up into the air and out of cover; a crack of sniper-rifle fire punctuating the air moments as Tarran killed the exposed mercenary.

Ria raised her shotgun as one of the two remaining mercenaries leaned out of cover to fire at Tarran, her shotgun blast sending the man tumbling forward before he could fire. Firing another shot at the last reaming mercenary, the quarian managed to collapse his shields; allowing for Laura to finish him off.

Deciding to not waste any more time, the four continued further into the base almost immediately. After not very long, they once again signs of battle ahead of them, indicating they were on the right path. Along with giving them a clear path to follow, the shear destruction left in the biotic's wake meant that they met no further resistance as they drew closer and closer to the sounds of fighting ahead of them.

It wasn't long before they reached the location source of the noise, passing through a set of destroyed gates and into large courtyard. At the end of the room were several raised terraces and barricades to provide cover for those defending the area. A manually operated turret sat at the very top, unleashing a nearly endless stream of rounds. At the far end of the area was a doorway, likely leading to the innermost chambers of the base.

Amongst these defenses over a dozen mercenaries could be see, all firing upon a raised walkway that normally would be used as a vantage point for snipers. Ria then noticed the target of the target of the mercenaries fire, a man surrounded by the glowing purple shroud of a biotic barrier running along the walkway.

A rocket streaked out from the mercenaries position toward the man, only to be deflected as a bubble like barrier surrounded him; doing little more then halting his movement for mere seconds. Sprinting once more, the biotic reached the end of the walkway and past the defenses, only pausing to effortlessly toss aside two mercenaries blocking the door before sprinting inside.

"Come on, we have to follow." Ria order, opening fire as she ran through the doorway and into the courtyard. A sniper round zoomed past her and struck the rocket-launcher wielding merc in the head as she ran, Tarran neutralizing the threat posed by the heavy weapon.

The turret wielding mercenary spun upon the new arrival, rounds tearing towards the four as they charged. Ria managed to dive down behind cover just in time, heavy machine gun round tearing the air around her small refuge. "Dammit, we need someone to take out the mercenary operating that turret."

"I can do it, just give me a distraction" Jalin answered, quickly looking out of cover before ducking back down, shots buzzing over his .

Pulling out her inactive drone, Ria gave the salarian a quick nod to tell him she was ready. Omni-tool flashing, she tossed the drone as far as she could into the mass of mercenaries, the drone surging to life just before hitting the ground. "Go get them Tikkun!"

The appearance of the drone had caught the mercenaries off guard, distracting them for the precious seconds Jalin needed. A brilliantly glowing aura of dark energy flared around the salarian as stood up from behind his cover; a small smile crossing his lips. There was a resounding boom as the salarian vanished in a blur of light, reappearing next to the turret in amongst a shockwave of dark energy. Raising his Scimitar shotgun, the salarian fired two shots into one of the staggering mercenaries, sending the batarian falling in a spray of green blood. Turning his attention to man operating the turret, Jalin took aim with his shotgun once more and fired. The turret ceased firing as the human operating it fell limply to lay splayed over the turret's control panel.

Before the surprised mercenaries could fire upon the salarian who had appeared in their midst, Ria returned fire, managing to kill one of the mercenaries and drain the shields of another before he managed to get behind cover. Laura and Tarran likewise each managed to kill a mercenary, Tarran switching to his Phaeton to join Ria in providing suppressing fire to allow Jalin fell back to nearby cover.

The quarian's attention focused on the nearest mercenary to her, she did not notice that another had crawled over to and retrieved the rocket launcher clutched in the handed of a fallen mercenary. She caught sight of the man just as he leaned out from cover to fire the heavy weapon at her. Just as the man's finger began to squeeze the trigger there was a spray of blood from his shoulder, the rocket-launcher falling from his grasp.

Firing off two quick bursts, the quarian turned finished the wounded mercenary off. Turning in the direction of her rescuer, Ria was mildly surprised to see it had been Laura, the M-97 Viper sniper rifle she had taken from the armory held at the ready. "Thanks, for the help." Ria said, ducking back behind cover.

"You owe me one," the soldier said, flashing a quick grin.

"Owe you one? Ha, you just managed to make up for one of the times I have had to save your life" Ria chucked, overloading a mercenaries shields, and firing off a burst that caught him center of his face.

"Guess, I will have to work a bit harder then, shouldn't be too hard to save your ass a few more times." Laura retorted as she tossed a grenade, killing one mercenary and wounded another.

Mopping up the remaining mercenaries, they quickly followed after the path taken by the biotic, passing through a long hallway littered with several more dead mercenaries. The ever present sounds of combat were now seemingly absent as they reached a large, open doorway. Motioning for them to stay low, Ria crept forward, crouching to the side of the open door in front of them. Waiting for her team to do the same, standing out of sight on either side of the door, the quarian slowly peaked inside the room.

Inside, only feet away from here, stood a human unlike in appearance to those made up the mercenary group. The human stood just over six feet tall, wearing nondescript lightweight black armor over a gray under-suit. He had short black hair that stood in deep contrast to his ghostly pale colored skin. The only visible weapons the quarian could see were a heavy pistol and two long combat knives stowed at his belt.

Behind a large metal desk stood the krogan mercenary leader Tharsk, five heavily armed mercenaries spread out behind him. Fear could be seen deep in the mercenaries' eyes as their nervously trained their weapons on man before for them, who must certainly be Daron.

"How did you make it through my defenses, there were over fifty of my men between you and me?" The krogan growled, slamming a meaty fist onto his desk.

"What can I say, I am a very talented man." Daron replied, a biotic aura surrounding a hand briefly to highlight his point.

"You don't have to do this you know. I can offer you twice what Meglin payed you." The krogan said desperately.

The human biotic chuckled softly. "Sorry... I am not the kind of scum who turns on his employer just because my target offers more. Nice try though, most people on this station probably would have taken your deal."

"Damn you. Kill him! Kill him!" Tharsk ordered, waving his hand in the direction of the biotic.

Before the mercenaries could even open fire, Daron had already begun to move, calling up his biotics with a wave of a arm and slamming one of the men into wall. Rounds struck biotic's barriers as he spun trust a hand in a grasping motion at a man to his left; the hapless mercenary convulsing coughed blood as a biotic field reaved and tore his insides apart.

Rolling forward, Daron took cover behind the dest before his barriers failed. Drawing his pistol, he sprung to the side, unleashing a concussive shockwave that sent two of the mercenaries stumbling back. Aiming his pistol at the third mercenary, Daron fired his pistol twice the first punching through the man's shields allowing the second to tear of hole in his chest.

Trusting his open hand upward, he lifted one of the still recovering mercenaries into the air to slam the ceiling, breaking the man's neck in the impact. Pointing his pistol at the last man, the biotic casually fired the last two shots in his clip; dropping the pistol back to his side as the man tumbled lifelessly to the floor.

The krogan was speechless for several seconds before rage filled his visage. "Fine them, I will kill you myself." Tharsk roared, leaping over his desk to charge at the human.

Right as the krogan seemed sure to bulldoze over the human, Daron unleashed a biotic thrust that robbed the krogan of much of his momentum and sent him staggering off at a angle. Side stepping the charge, Daron drew his knife and slashed at the mercenary leader's face, blinding one of his eyes.

"Quit your squirming, coward" The partially blinded krogan roared as Daron dodged a swipe of the massive alien's arm.

"If you insist." A swirling biotic field sprung up around Daron as thrust both hand at the mercenary leader, sending his flying through the air, over his desk, and into the back wall with a thud. Before the krogan could rise, the biotic trust a hand at the metal desk, sending it crashing back into the alien and pinning him to the wall.

Daron drew his pistol once more, depositing a new thermal clip as he approach the beaten mercenary leader. The krogan gazed up at the human with a utterly beaten look. "No please, spare me." Without answering, the biotic pointed his gun at the side of the krogan's head and pulled the trigger.

The battle over, Ria stood and motioned for her friends to do the same. Keeping her rifle lowered as she entered the room. "Marcus Daron?" Ria more stated then asked

The biotic spun to face them, as they entered, biotics flaring up around him. Ria took a step back, raising a hand a non-threatening gesture. "We aren't here to fight, we just came to talk."

"So you were the ones I saw fighting some of Tharsk's pet mercenaries outside this room. Forgive me if I don't take trust the heavily armed band who just fought through a dozen mercenaries are just here to talk, quarian. If you just wanted to talk, you could have easily set up a meeting... so, why are you here?"

"We came here to help you. You are in immense danger, Cerberus agents on Omega have been tasked with capturing you. They are going to try trap you here, block your path out." Ria explained.

A look of anger and perhaps shock briefly flashed over the mercenary's featured before fading to a look of smug disbelief. "Cerberus has been dead for over twenty years, you are going to have to come up with a better lie then that if you want me to believe you."

"We aren't lying. In the past week Cerberus has attacked two colonies and sent agents to the Citadel; and now we have evidence that they are now after you. They think that you can somehow help them find something, what we don't know...but if you come with us and help us stop Cerberus we will help you avoid capture, and pay whatever price you name."

"What happens if I refuse" Daron said laugh laced with a hint of anger, dark energy flashing around him menacingly.

"No matter if you refuse or not, Cerberus will be here any second now!" Ria said, taking a step forward locking glares with the human. "There's no way in hell am I letting Cerberus get what they are after, whether you like it or not. Help us, or don't; That's your choice. But we have to leave before Cerberus arrives and traps us here."

A cold laugh echoed softly, punctuating the air. Turning in the direction of the sound, Ria saw that its source was a tall man in a light-weight suit of gray and black armor, his features completely obscured by a masked helmet. Two men in gold and white heavy armor stood to either side of him, heavy machine guns held at the ready.

"Leave before Cerberus arrives? It is far too late for that I am afraid..." The man chuckles coldly.

* * *

_**Authors Note**_: Big thanks to Nozzivix for compiling a dictionary of all the quarian words invented by various other fanfic writers. I shall be putting this new tool to good use **evil laugh that makes no sense now that I think about it**

**Glossary**

**Det kazuat:** _Term of curse, considered especially crude. Literal Translation: Living sack of excrement. _


	12. Chapter 12: Omega Part 2

_Date: 4/17/2210_

"Its been far a long time Marcus." the Cerberus assassin greeted the mercenary in a emotionless voice, cutting through the dead silence that had hung over the room with his arrival. The four Cerberus centurions behind him began lining up shots as he spoke.

"Do I know you?" the mercenary growled in response.

"No, you would not... but I remember you."

The biotic's eyes widened and face paled ever so slightly. "...what do you want" he said through clenched teeth.

"We need your assistance to find something, something that will secure humanity's place in the galaxy."

As the man talked, Ria took the opportunity to silently activated her comms, counting on her mask to hide the fact that she was speaking. "Get ready to attack the instant anyone makes a move. Laura, Tarran; I need you two to take the two on the right. Jalin, you got right. I will attack the leader."

"No way in hell am I going to help you bastards" Daron scowled in answer, dark energy flaring up around him to punctuate his statement. "Get the hell out before I tear you apart"

The Cerberus assassin seemed to take no heed of the biotic's threat, instead turning his attention to Ria. "And you must be the _great _Commander Shepard's daughter" the man said coldly, his voice becoming a sneer as he said the word _great. _"I am surprised you have been able to cause Cerberus as much trouble as you have, first on Horizon and then on the Citadel. But now it shall come to a end. If you step aside and give me the prothean data disk you have, I will let you walk away with your lives. If not, well, then things will get messy for..."

"I don't deal with terrorist bastards" Ria spat in response, cutting him off.

The Cerberus assassin turned away from Ria upon getting her answer, before addressing the mercenary once more. "One way or another you will be coming with us Daron. Surrendering would save you a lot of pain"

"I have always been a fan of doing things the hard way" The mercenary said with smirk, dark energy flaring around him. Thrusting both hands forward, Daron unleashed a violent shockwave of biotic energy crashing into the Cerberus assassin with a shattering boom.

The moment that Daron had unleashed his attack, Ria's team has sprung into action just as planned. Laura fired her assault rifle full-auto to provide covering fire while Tarran sprinted to take cover behind one of the room's four support pillars before joining the human soldier in engaging the two Cerberus centurions to the right of the assassin. Meanwhile Jalin had reappeared in a cyclone of dark energy between the other two elite foot-soldiers, sending them both stumbling as he engaged them in close quarters combat.

As the energy dissipated, Ria saw that the assassin appeared untouched by the attack, standing with his hand outstretched as a barely visible bubble-like biotic barrier faded away. Growling in a mix of anger and frustration, Daron let lose two more biotic attacks, both striking the assassins barriers with no more success then the first.

The assassin retaliated the moment the final attack was deflected, Daron tossed back into the wall as if thrown by a unseen hand. The mercenary fell the floor, barely managing to catch himself with a outstretched hand.

Before the assassin could attack the dazed mercenary, Ria opened fire with her father's vindicator. She was only able to get off single burst before the man spun to face her, a invisible force tearing the weapon from her grasp and nearly breaking her wrist in the process.

Grabbing for his pistol, Ria watched as the assassin raised a open hand, a circular device on his palm glowing with increasing intensity. There was a cracking boom like thunder a searing hot pain pierced. Ria faltered her vision became shrouded in a haze of agony, the quarian somehow managing to stay standing despite the pain. Looking down, she saw that her armor was cracked and burnt along one side, centered around a centimeter thick hole from which red blood slowly streamed. _That shot tore through my shields and armor like they were paper!_ Ria thought in shock.

Wounded and in shock, Ria could only watch as the assassin primed his palm-mounted weapon once more. A blue and white armored shape slammed into the man before he could fire and was sent tumbling back as Laura, having managed to kill one of the Cerberus centurions, came to her friend's defense.

Ria slumped to one knee, watching as the human soldier lunged at the assassin, attempting to grapple with him once more; only to be tossed aside by his biotics. The assassin was hit by a warp from the now recovered Daron before he could retaliate against Laura's attack or attempt to finish Ria off. Small, weak biotic attacks bombarded the Cerberus agent in rapid succession, holding him at bay long enough for Laura to roll to her feet and spring at the man again.

Glancing to either side, Ria saw that Jalin had managed to kill one of the two Cerberus soldiers he had engaged and was now grappling with the other, the salarian's biotics allowing him to match the advantage given by the human's larger size and greater strength. Tarran was likewise occupied, having managed to pin the other Cerberus centurion behind one of the support pillars; but was unable to get a clear shot to finish him off.

_There's no way Laura or Daron can keep this up without help_, Ria thought as she injected medi-gel through an access port in her suit. The injection's near-miraculous effects took hold within moments, numbing the pain and slowing the flow of blood from the wound to slow trickle.

Managing to stand, Ria opened fire with her pistol, catching the Cerberus soldier behind the pillar unawares. Rounds tearing through shields, the man fell into a growing pool of his own blood. "Tarran, help Laura" Ria hissed through clenched teeth, slipped back into a kneeling position as as a wave of vertigo brought on by blood-loss came over her.

Ria turned her attention back to the fight just in time to see Laura struck by a series of punches ending in a kick that sent her stumbling back. Daron charged at the assassin moments later, dark energy surrounding his fist as he struck, only to be battered aside by a shockwave before his bioticially augmented melee attack could connect.

It was then that Tarran entered the fray, a bang echoing through the small room as a sniper shot blasted away the assassin's shields. Reengaging the assassin, Laura slashed at the man with her combat knife, scoring a hit across his shoulder.

Recovering with inhuman speed, the assassin dodged two more slashes, grabbing the soldier's arm on the third before delivering a crushing knee strike to her stomach. Turning as Laura fell to heap at his feet, the assassin reached out towards Daron, who was once more pushing himself from the ground. Biotics surrounded the mercenary, throwing him to the side and into Tarran, sending them both tumbling to the ground.

Seeing how easily the powerful biotic and her friends were being tossed around, Ria fought against the pain emanating from her wound and took aim with her pistol. Her shots failed to connect, the assassin moving with unnatural speed as he dived into a roll that brought him under the line of fire and within striking distance of the quarian. The pistol was knocked from her grasp in a lighting fast moment, Ria unable to react as she was struck by a duo of punches that forced the air from his lungs and sent her doubling over in pain.

She would have undoubtedly been finished then if Laura had not come to her aid once more; the soldier lunging, combat knife in hand, to stab at the assassin's back. The Cerberus agent dodged to the side at the last moment, a sword coming free of its sheath as he moved. Trying to get out of range of the assassin's blade, Laura threw herself back and away from him. Despite her efforts, she was all too slow as the sword arced towards her, the molecular blade cutting through armor and flesh with little resilience. Blood flowed freely from the long gash running from sternum to side, the soldier collapsing face down into the floor.

"No!" Tarran shouted, opening fire with his assault rifle as the assassin raised his blade the delver a finishing strike. Rounds tore at his shields, forcing the man to defend himself with a biotic barrier. Just then a biotically shrouded form struck him like a cannon ball, his barrier flaring brightly as it absorbed the blow. Coming out of his biotic charge with shotgun raised, Jalin fired point blank, the barrier collapsing under the close range assault.

Before he could fire again, the salarian's legs were swept out from under him. The assassin started to bring his arm down, only to be stopped as Tarran grabbed hold of him. "Jalin, tend to Laura's wounds!" The turian shouted as the assassin shook free of his grasp, elbow striking him hard in the shoulder.

Despite the assassins far superior strength and speed, Tarran was able to knock the sword from the man's grasp and managed to (barely) block several kicks and punches that were thrown at him; holding him off while Jalin dragged Laura's limp form away.

Despite his best efforts however, Tarran was unable to keep up for long, a punch slipping past his defenses and smashing into his face. Dazed, the turian was unable to block as four more strikes connected. Recovering Tarran threw a punch that the man simply caught in a raised palm, before bringing a closed fist in a hammering blow on the turian's arm. There was a crack of breaking bones and a yelp of pain as Tarran fell, clutching his broken arm. A kick sent the turian falling to the floor, Tarran groaning in pain as he tried to rise.

The assassin took a step toward him, coming to a stop as a biotic attack forced him back a step. Turning, the assassin watched as Daron stood, a look of rage and determination filling the mercenaries features. "How are you still standing..." the assassin muttered in a cold voice.

"Not...gonna... let you...beat me" the mercenary growled. Biotic energy crackling around him as he stood fully upright, Daron unleashed a massive shockwave that rushed over the assassin in a blinding assault of dark energy. The force of the wave slammed the Cerberus agent through the air, past one of the pillars, into the wall in the corner of the room with a shuddering boom.

Despite the unbridled power of the attack, the Cerberus assassin shrugged off the attack like it was nothing, slowly standing as he brushed himself off. A hand reached out for Daron, biotics tossing him back. Before the mercenary could try to stand, a concussive strike slammed him into the fall, followed by another, and another; battering the human biotic with repeated strikes.

_We can't win_, Ria thought from where she lay, watching as the powerful biotic was tossed around like he was nothing. _Everyone is down but Jalin, but hes busy keeping Laura alive...besides, what can he possibly do?_

_No_,another voice inside her head answered, _don't you dare give up now. Your father would never give up, no mater how much more powerful the enemy. _Slowly Ria rose to her feet, a realization hitting her as she did, _there may be no way I can hope to beat him in a direct attack... so I won't be direct..._

With all the strength she should muster, Ria charged the Cerberus assassin. With a shout she lunged, omni-blade springing to life around her wrist as she struck at the man. The Cerberus agent dodged with little effort, seizing Ria's arm as he knee struck her in the stomach. Lifting her up by a arm, the man held the quarian so she dangled with her feet a inch off the floor.

"What did you think that attack would accomplish little girl? I would have expected your father taught you better then that." The assassin said in a cold, emotionless voice. Not waiting for a answer he slammed her against the wall before tossing her back.

Ria pushed herself partially upright, eyes locking with his as she smiled behind her mask. "That!" Ria spat as the two grenades, one fragmentation grenade and one flashbang, that she had dropped at the assassin's feet detonated.

There was a blinding flash and a explosive boom as the assassin was engulfed in a cloud of shrapnel. The attack left the assassin covered in a hundred small wounds, his biotic barriers the only thing saving him from the point blank explosion. Clutching his eyes his one hand, the assassin dropped to one knee and place another hand on the ground. A shimmering blue kinetic barrier formed a bubble around him, undoubtedly to defend him while he attempted to recover.

Glancing around she was surprised to see that Daron was once more shakily rising to his feet._ Stubborn son a bitch, I will give him that_. "Daron, you have to listen to me, we only have one chance before he recovers. I need you and Jalin to hit the roof above him and the support beam next top him with everything you got! Now!"

Nodding quickly, the mercenary struck the stone pillar and roof with a concussive wave of dark energy, cracks forming to spiderweb through the stone. The cracks grew and spread as a blast from Jalin hit in the first's wake, before a moment later the two biotics unleashed their remaining power; causing the pillar fall and section of the ceiling above the assassin to rain down on on him, crushing him under a pile a rubble.

Panting, Ria swayed on her feet as she limped over to Tarran, pulling the semi-conscious turian upright. "Jalin, hows Laura?"

"Her condition is stable, wound wasn't too deep, not life threatening once bleeding was stopped."

"I-I'm fine" Laura added weakly, Jalin returning to her side and helping her up.

"We have to get out of there, we won't be safe until we reach the Invisible." Ria said, turning her attention to Daron. Before she could say anything, the biotic walked over to here and aided her in supporting Tarran's weight.

Surprised Ria started to ask why he was helping, only for the biotic to cut her off saying "You saved my life, I owe you that much."

"Good...lets get the hell out of here."

_**. . . . .**_

"So you don't know anything about the Darkforge, nor anything else Cerberus may be after?"

"No, if I did I would have told you. Your guess as to why Cerberus thought I could help them is as good as mine." The mercenary replied to Ria's question, scowling as he leaned back in his chair.

Despite their injuries sustained in the fight with the Cerberus assassin it has been surprisingly easy to escape from the mercenary base; Cerberus having only placing two dozen troopers throughout the compound (likely not expecting anyone to be able to get past their elite agents) to cut off escape. It had been less then a hour since they made it back to the Invisible; Ria, Jalin, and Laura spending some time questioning Daron in the comms room, while Tarran had his broken arm attended to by the ship's doctor. Laura would have been there was well if the soldier had not stubbornly insisted otherwise; Ria finally relenting after Laura promised to get her injury examined after they had finished debriefing.

"Dammit, I had hoped you could tell us something that could let us get one step ahead of Cerberus for a change, but if you don't know anything..." Ria sighed with frustration.

"Curious, if he knows nothing of the Darkforge, then why were Cerberus so sure they needed him..." Jalin pondered, before shooting a distrusting glare at the mercenary."If you are actually telling the truth, of course."

"So what now?" Daron scowled, ignoring the salarian's glare.

"We aren't going to try and confine you here, if that's what you are worried about. We can drop you off at any planet you wish." Ria explained.

"That won't be necessary... without your aid I would have certainly been captured by Cerberus, and for that I owe you. I can't give you the information you need, but I will help you in whatever way I can until your mission is done... free of charge." Daron said, his willingness to help surprising the quarian.

"Your help would be greatly appreciated, welcome aboard" Ria said, standing and extending a hand to the mercenary.

Daron did not return the gesture, brushing past her as he headed for the door. "I will need somewhere to stay, away from the rest of the crew. I prefer to have my own space."

"_The port cargo bay is currently unoccupied. Would that be suitable?_" Core asked over the intercom.

The mercenary nodded, walking out of the door. Once the door had shut behind him, Laura turned to Ria with a frown "What do you think his problem is? You would figure he would be at-least a bit more polite to the people who saved his sorry ass."

Ria shrugged, wincing as pain stabbed at her wounded side, turning her attention to both Laura and Jalin. "It doesn't matter now, whats important is we need to figure out what's our next step. Since we don't have any idea of where Cerberus will strike next, nor have any indication of where to go next. Any ideas?"

"Hmmm, only clear choice now is to wait for more intel, I would recommend we leave omega and lay low until then." the salarian offered.

Ria nodded in response, the room falling silent. After a minute had passed, Ria sighed and spoke once more. "For now, I guess thats the best we can do. You can both go now"

Laura and Jalin both stood, the salarian excusing himself with a nod before exiting the room while Laura stood next to her chair. "So what now?" Laura asked once the salarian had left.

"Now? Now you are going to get your wound check out like you promised."

"Alright" Laura sighed, before grumbling under her breath "You are worse then my mother"

"If that's the case I can give you chores or something when you are done."

"God, you're horrible."

"I can live with that," Ria shrugged in response, chucking softly.

Exiting the comms room, Ria accompanied Laura down to the ship's medical bay (partially due to not putting it past Laura trying to escape.) Taking the elevator down to the ship's second deck, the two soon arrived at their destination. Heading through the double doors that slid open as they approached, Ria looked around the ship's med-bay for the first time. Beds and operating tables filled much of the room, the rest occupied by cabinets and shelves filled with various medical equipment. Tarran lay resting on a bed in the back of the room, while the rooms other occupant, an asari wearing a medical-uniform that marked her as the ship's doctor, sat at a desk on which various medical files and data-pads were piled.

"I apologies if I am intruding, but I have brought another patient for you."

"No, not at all" The asari said, looking up from her from her work. "In fact, Core told me you would be coming."

Ria nodded in response, stepping fully into the room and dragging Laura in behind her.

"I don't believe we have had a chance to meet, I am Doctor Enara A'Dani" the asari greeted, standing up and extending a hand that Ria shook.

"Ria'Shepard nar Rannoch." Ria introducing herself before gesturing at Laura. "And this is Laura Alenko, who I have dragged down here to get an injury looked at."

"Its not necessary, the injury wasn't that bad. The medi-gel and bandages stopped the bleeding just fine." the soldier grumbled.

"You were cut badly, by a sword!" Ria retorted.

"It cut was shallow, looked a lot worse then it was."

Shaking her head at the exchange, Doctor A'Dani motioned for Laura to take a seat on one of the medical scanners."I will be the judge of that."

"So, how is your other patient doing?"

"Well, he sustained several minor fractures, mainly in his shoulder, ribs, and pelvis; which should heal up in a few days; and a minor concussion. The broken arm will take longer, probably will have to wear a cast for at-least a week, maybe too. He should be able to leave the med-bay tomorrow, if there are no further complications."

"I can answer for myself, I am fine, really" Tarran slurred groggily from where he lay.

"Pain medication" the asari doctor explained at Ria's questioning glance. Activating her omni-tool, she began a medical scan of Laura's injury. "Ria, I almost forgot. I was informed by Core that you were also injured, is that correct?"

Ria nodded, too which Doctor A'Dani continued "Now, due to the risk of further infection I cannot check the injury myself while Tarran and Laura are in the med-bay. For now you should reapply medi-gel and bandage the wound once you get back to your cabin."

"Got it."

The asari made her way over to one of the cabinets, taking a moment to search through the assorted bottles and containers before returning with two pill bottles. "Here are some antibiotics and some pain killers that are safe for dextro-amino races. Take once of each pill tonight, and one of each again as soon as you wake up tomorrow morning. "

Ria dipped her head in thanks as she took the two bottles from the asari. Glancing at both of her injured friends, the quarian asked "do you need any help here, or..."

"No need, I think I can handle two stubborn patients. You should get some rest, you are exhausted, if I were to go by the bio-feedback from your suit's implants.

Due to the doctor's mentioning it, Ria only then became aware of how tried she felt. Despite rather staying to make sure both of her friends were alright, Ria grudgingly took the asari's advice and excused herself from the med-bay

"Core?" she yawned as she entered her cabin.

"_Yes Creator-Shepard?"_

"Inform the crew to bring any issues and problems that arise to Jalin's or your attention while I am asleep."

"_Affirmative"_

Activating the decontamination unit, Ria removed the visor of her helmet, which she tossed onto her desk. Removing her suit, she reapplied medi-gel and bandaged the picture would as instructed, taking both pills once she had finished. Once done, the quarian threw herself down onto her bed, falling into a deep slumber within seconds of closing her eyes.

_**. . . . .**_

Beads of sweat dripped down Kel's face as he strained to keep the metal storage crate aloft; the field of dark energy keeping the box aloft flickering as it threatened to fail. He could only last a few more seconds before the effort became to much for him, the crate falling the the floor with a crash.

Panting heavily, Kel lowered his outstretched hand and made his way over to the fallen crate, checking to see if it had been at all damaged. For the past two hours the quarian has been practicing the use of his biotics; levitating or tossing around some of the crates that filled the cargo bay. Seeing that the crate nor it's contents have been damaged, Kel returned to the side of the cargo hold, taking a seat on a stack of boxes.

"Training with your biotics I see."

Nearly yelping in surprise, Kel turned to see Jalin standing in the doorway. "Lieutenant Kalerihn, I-I... sorry, I didn't see you there. I take it everything went fine on the mission?"

"No need to be formal Kel, you are part of this crew so you _can _call me by my first name like everyone else. And yes, mission was a success and went well considering circumstances. "

"Was any one hurt... I mean, not seriously of course; as if they were you wouldn't have said things went well..."

"Nothing life threatening at this point" the salarian said with a smile, "Both Ria and Laura sustained moderate injuries, but should be fine within a day or two. Tarran is likewise injured, but also sustained broken arm will probably limit him from ground missions for at-least a week any more."

"Ah I see, s-sorry for bothering you with... asking. I would just feel bad if anyone got hurt badly while I just stayed here on the ship...safe. Not that I would have helped that much if I was there, probably just do something stupid anyways."

The salarian said nothing as he took a seat on the same stack of boxes as Kel, before asking,"I take it you never really have had much biotic combat training?"

"Well, I did get some weapons training before I left for my pilgrimage... and some of the stuff I learned to do with my biotics can be useful in a fight... I wish I was better, maybe then I could help."

Jalin nodded "So you want to help, but feel as though you can't due to your inexperience and lack of training. In many ways you are right, your lack of experience could very well get your teammates hurt... but it is a problem that can be rectified."

The salarian stood up, continuing "If you would like, I would be willing to help train you in use of your biotics, and in more mundane combat skills. That way you won't be putting your teammates in danger, and will be able to help."

"Really? You would!?" Kel said excitedly, jumping to his feet. "I-I mean, if its not too much trouble... yes, I would like that."

"Good, we will start tomorrow then." The salarian said with smile and a curt nod, before turning to leave.

Kel grinned from behind his mast as the salarian exited the cargo-hold, needing every ounce off self control he possessed not to jump around in excitement.

* * *

**Author's Note:** I have a quick announcement to make in regards for the update schedule of this story. Due to starting College soon (classes begin on the 24th) I will be going to begin posting a new chapter every other week, rather then everyweek. This is due to me likely having far less free time to work on the story, so to play it safe I will being altering my schedual for the time being. If it so happens that it seems I am easily getting out a new chapter every two weeks with time to spare, I will possibly go to posting a new chapter every 1-2 weeks.


	13. Chapter 13: Downtime

_4/18/2210_

The faint burning of a fever awoke Ria from her fitful slumber. "Damn immune system" the quarian groaned, rolling out from under her covers. She had fully expected to feel some sort of reaction due to her exposure to omega's environment when she had been wounded in yesterday's fight. _At least the improvements the geth made to our immune systems mean there is little risk of __**serious**__ sickness; though that doesn't make how I feel now any less unpleasant._

Ria glanced at the clock, seeing that it was still early in the "morning". Deciding that her fever would make any attempt to get more sleep more trouble then it was worth, Ria began putting on her suit. Once her mask was re-secured in place, she headed out the door of her cabin and made her way to the ship's mess hall.

Entering the room Ria was surprised to find that the mess hall was not wholly deserted as she had expected given the early hour; seeing Jalin sitting alone at one of the tables. The salarian looked up from the data-pad he was reading, nodding in greeting before dropping his gaze once more.

Rummaging through one of the cabinets, Ria found and retrieved a tube of nutrient paste before making her way over to the table at which the salarian sat. "You mind if I sit with you?"

"Not at all."

"I am surprised to find you up this early" Ria noted, sitting down in a chair across from him.

"Salarian require less sleep then most other races, due to much higher metabolism rate. Part of shorter life span of my race... Also, couldn't sleep."

Ria nodded at his explanation before inserting the tube into a access port at the bottom of her helmet, before squeezing some of the bland, gray goop into her mouth.

"I could ask you the same question: any reason you are up at this early hour?" the salarian asked after a moment of silence passed between them.

"Much the same as you, couldn't sleep. Bit of a fever due to yesterday's fight woke me up."

"Ah, understandable: quarian immune systems still weak, air exposure to wounds in locations other then Rannoch would carry high probability of allergic reaction." the salarian noted. "Maybe Doctor A'Dani would be able to give you something to alleviate the symptoms."

"She already gave me some antibiotics and painkillers yesterday; not much more I can do but suffer through the reaction for a day or two" Ria sighed, shaking her head. "Speaking of yesterday, anything of note happen yesterday after I fell asleep?"

"No, nothing beyond the typical. Talked to Kel a bit, found him practicing his biotics down in the cargo hold. Offered to help him practice, we will be starting later today; hopefully will help improve his combat effectiveness on future missions." Jalin answered, speaking in his usual rapid rate of speech.

"I bet Kel was ecstatic when you told him. I have been talking to him whenever I have been down in engineering, and from what I can tell he wants nothing more than to be an active, helpful member of the team. He has so little faith in his abilities or that he can be of any real use, so you helping to train him might give him a bit more confidence."

"Was thinking much along the same lines, main motivation for offering to serve as mentor for him for however long he serves on the Invisible." Jalin smiled.

Ria nodded, before a realization hit her "You know Jalin, I have been on this ship for a few days now and I haven't had a chance to really talk to you much, at least, not on a personal level. I feel bad not really having tried to get to know you as I have done with some of the other crew."

"Understandable, you have been occupied most of the time over the past few days," Jalin said, smiling softly. "If you would be so inclined to listen, I could rectify this problem with starting by speaking a bit of my past military service and go on from there."

"I would like that" Ria said, nodding for him to continue.

"Well, there is not much to say really. I served in the salarian Special Task Groups for five years. Had been dream to join STG while growing up; many members of my family served in STG, going back nearly a dozen generations." Jalin said, a proud smile briefly flashing as he spoke.

"But you aren't in the STG now though, at least from what Garrus told me. If that was your dream growing up, why did you leave?"

Jalin's smile faded, replaced by a more dower and melancholy expression."Things changed, grew weary of long infiltration missions. Unsavory decisions had to be made almost constantly, missions and events began to take their toll; so eventually I left. Didn't leave salarian military however, only from active service. Spent a year training new recruits, mostly salarian biotics, before I received an offer to serve in SR3 project."

"How did you receive a offer to be part of the SR3 project? I mean, I thought it was a joint program between the human and turian governments."

"Initially, yes. That changed once the project was near completion, at which point many of the other races, salarians included, wished to become involved. A deal was made by the council, that provided they would help fund the project, any race could have members of their military join the crews of the SR3 vessels to fill officer or specialist positions." the salarian explained.

"I guess that makes sense" Ria nodded, pausing to eat another tasteless blob of nutrient paste. "Now that I have been on the Invisible for a few days now, I have come across a few things I wish to ask you about the ship. Nothing important or anything, mostly small things I haven't really had the time to ask about, if its not too much trouble."

"Ah, yes. I offered to answer any further questions you had, so of course it would be no trouble at all. What would you like to ask?"

**. . . . .**

After spending an hour chatting with Jalin on various fairly mundane subjects, Ria decided to take her leave and head down to engineering. After agreeing to wake Kel and tell him that his practice session with Jalin would begin soon, Ria took the elevator down to the lower level of the ship.

Stepping out of the elevator, Ria headed towards the entrance to engineering; only to come to a stop as her attention was drawn to the closed doors of the part cargo hold. _You know, I never did get a chance to talk to, nor properly greet, our newest arrival, _the quarian thought as she approached the closed door. Hesitating briefly, she hit the door controls and stepped through them as they slid open.

Looking around the room Ria saw that it appeared to be mostly empty, seeing no sign that Daron was there. Several storage crates sat in random locations, one crate appearing to serve as a chair for the small worktable pushed off to one side. A heavy pistol, several combat knives, and a handful of thermal clips sat strewn about the table, serving as the only apparent sign that the room was occupied by anything more then stored supplies.

"What do you want?" an unseen voice grumbled to her left, causing the quarian to nearly jump in surprise.

Spinning in the direction of the voice's source, Ria could see that several of the panels along the bottom of the wall had been removed, exposing a section of a maintenance shaft that ran along the cargo hold. Either end of the exposed maintenance tunnel were blocked off by several small storage crates stuffed into the passage way. Within the small enclosed space a simple cot could be seen, on which Marcus Daron lay with both hands resting behind his head.

"I-I, sorry for barging in; I thought I woulds ee if you were having trouble settling in."

The mercenary did not answer, instead letting his gaze meet hers. Despite her mask obscuring her, Ria felt as though the mercenary was reading her expression; as if trying to determine a sign that could indicate an alterior motivation for her desire to speak to him.

"Are you here to question me more about what Cerberus wants? I already told you I don't know anything."

"No, I wasn't going to ask you about that."

"Then I don't see why you have any reason to talk to me." the biotic said, turning his gaze away from her.

"Do I need a reason to want to talk to you? You are part of this crew for the time being, so I just wanted to talk to you, maybe get to know you a bit better."

"I get that you are trying to make me feel more comfortable and get to know me, but its not needed. I prefer to work alone and be alone. So if you have nothing of important to say to me, then there is little point of you talking to me." Daron answers, irritation creeping into his voice.

"If you prefer to work alone, why did you join then." Ria asked, ignoring his attempts rebuffing of her attempts to strike a conversation.

Daron was silent fro several moments, finally answering when it was clear she was not going to leave. "I told you, I am here because you helped save my life and I owe you at least that much. That...that and I want to be around to see whatever Cerberus plans to do go up in flames." Daron growled, turning his attention away from the quarian once more after he had finished his answer.

"...you have a past with Cerberus don't you?" Ria asked after a pause, putting two and two together. "From what that assassin said, he had met you before."

The mercenary did not reply, his gaze fixed on the ceiling of the maintenance shaft in which he lay. When it was clear he was not going to respond, Ria spoke once more, irritation and frustration beginning to seep into her voice. "I can respect that you would rather not talk about it, but the least you can do is tell me that rather then ignoring me completely."

Like before, no response was forthcoming from the mercenary, Daron continuing to show no acknowledgment of the quarian's presence.

"You know what, fine." Ria fumed, being ignored causing her irritation and frustration to begin boiling over. "You want to stay in your little isolated hole, go right ahead. Sorry for trying to be polite and wanting to talk."

Scowling, Ria turned and left the room; grumbling in irritation as she made her way towards the doors leading to engineering. _I don't even know why I am so angry_, she thought, coming to a stop before the door._ There is reason for me getting this irritated just because some mercenary bosh'tet was rude when I tried to talk to him. Why should I care about whether Daron acts like part of the team or not?_

Glancing briefly back at the at the door to the port cargo hold before turning away with a shake of her head, Ria entered into the engineering bay. Gazing around the room, Ria was slightly amused to find Kel sleeping in a hammock strung up between two of the large coolant pipes running just bellow the ceiling and to connect to the drive core.

"Kel, wake up. Jalin said that your first practice session with him will start soon." Ria said, reaching up to lightly nudge the smaller quarian.

The blue garbed quarian awoke with a start, bolting upright quickly and rushing to extricate himself from the hammock. In his haste, Kel fell out of the hammock, falling to the ground with a thud.

"Are you okay?" Ria said, giggling a bit despite her concern as she helped him to his feet.

"I'm fine, I'm fine, got a bit too excited is all" Kel answered, moving quickly towards the door the moment he was on his feet once more. A foot away from the door, Kel slid to a halt, turning back to where Ria stood chuckling softly. "Oh, um, I forgot to ask; is it alright that you and core cover for me while I am practicing, I mean, I wouldn't want to thrust my duties on you without asking it is alright and..."

"Its alright Kel, good luck with your training." Ria laughed, waving for him to go on. Making her way over to one of the engineering consoles, Ria opened up a readout displaying the ship's various system's state of functionality and got to work. "Core, run a diagnostic on the ship's shield generators, they seem to be drawing a bit more power then they should when running on half capacity, I want to see if I can make it a bit more efficient."

**. . . . .**

Tarran felt his gaze drift aimlessly over the star-filled void beyond the lounge's window, the turian slipping further into a boredom induced daze. After his release from the ship's medical-bay a few hours ago, the turian had stubbornly attempted to return to his normal duties despite the doctor's orders for him to do otherwise. However, he had soon discovered weapons maintenance with only one arm to almost impossible, and after nearly of hour of struggling finally accepted that he would be unable to complete his normal duties until his arm has healed and made his way to the ship's lounge to get some rest like he had been told.

Sighing, Tarran looked away from window and rubbed his eyes. Several more minutes passed as the turian sat in silence before the soft hiss of a door opening caught the his attention, turning his head to see Laura entering the lounge carrying a bottle in either hand. "Hey, thought you would probably be going insane with your arm getting in the way of your weapons maintenance duties; so I thought I would come keep you company."

"A girl comes in with drinks and says she wanted to "keep me company"? Are you coming onto me, Alenko?" Tarran joked, reaching out with his uninjured to take the bottle of turian ale the human woman handed him.

"Ha, keep dreaming Vakarian, I am way out of your league." Laura snorted, taking a seat in one of the vacant chairs and unscrewing the cap of her own beverage.

"Ouch, that hurts Laura, it really does." Tarran said, uncapping his own bottle and taking a long draft from the drink

"How's the arm?" Laura asked.

"Doc injected some nanites that will speed the rate of bone repair, said I should be good as new in about a week." Tarran grimaced, as he tried to wiggle his arm a bit. "Still hurts like hell though, even with the painkillers. How's the side?"

"The bleeding has stopped, had to get a few stitches though, not much pain to note. Going to leave one hell of a scar though." Laura answered with a shrug.

"Well that scar will be helpful if you ever decide to date a krogan, should really improve your chances."

"Ha ha ha" the soldier laughed dryly, taking a sip of her own drink and falling silent.

"So, besides the obvious matter of the injuries we sustained, what do you feel about how the last mission went down?" Tarran asked after a few moments, breaking to small pause in their conversation.

"Confused and frustrated mostly. We learned nothing of Cerberus' plans, and since out newest "crewmember" knows nothing of why Cerberus wanted him; we don't have the faintest clue how much of setback those bastards suffered or how he could possibly help us."

"I get the feeling that you don't think we should have let our newest mercenary associate join us." Tarran noted, referencing the soldier's tone when referring to Daron.

"He hasn't told us anything we can use to stop Cerberus, and we don't have any reason why we should to trust him. But it was Ria's call, and Jalin agreed with her choice when I talked to him about it yesterday; so I am not going to question their judgment." Laura scowled. "Besides, its not just the last mission that pisses me off, its the whole damn thing."

Tarran said nothing, instead nodding in understanding and waited for her to continue.

"We are flying completely blind. We don't have the faintest goddamn idea what the Darkforge is or what it does. Cerberus seems to know exactly what they need and where to go, when we are barely piecing it together."

"I get what you are feeling... and I am not nearly enough of a optimist to give you any motivational speech about how "we will succeed" or anything like that. All I can say is we just keep trying and tough are way through it, no matter how hard it seems."

"I would normally agree, but after that last fight..." Laura said, pausing to shake her head and taking a long draft from her drink. "... I can't help but think we are in way over our heads. The way that Cerberus assassin tossed all of us around like we were nothing; how are we supposed to deal with that kind of threat?"

"We beat him just fine all the same, so I would say everything turned out all right." the turian countered with a grin.

"Tarran, that fight left you with a broken arm and over two dozen other minor fractures, Ria got shot, and I got an eleven inch long cut … from a sword." The soldier said flatly. "I wouldn't define that as "everything turning out all right."

"We lived, thats makes it a victory in my book."

The soldier took another sip from her drink before answering somberly. "I guess you are right, its just, what if we go up against something like him again..."

"Well look on the bright side, we dropped a roof on the last Cerberus assassin that powerful. I highly doubt hes coming back any time soon."

**. . . . .**

Somewhere far away a man sat in a room, his features cloaked in shadows that the dim light cast by the computer thermal could not pierce. The screen flashed as it displayed the incoming data that streamed in at a near constant rate, the man's eyes darting at he scanned through the reports sent by his agents throughout the galaxy.

An incoming call marked as priority caught his attention, the man reaching out to the control panel at his side to accept the incoming transmission. The display dimmed and faded as the man hit another key, plunging the room into pitch blackness.

Seconds later a hologram flickered to life as it materialized before him, its glow replacing that now longer cast by the terminal. The hologram showed the image of a man in black and gray armor, apparel that showed obvious signs of damage. Cracks and dents covered several of the armored plating, stained in places with dark brown-red of dried blood.

"_Sir, the mission on omega was... a failure. A group including Shepard's daughter intervened, allowing the target to get away."_

"I am surprised, Ghost. Even with their help you should have been more then a match for them. Perhaps I have overestimated your abilities."

the assassin dipped his head in surrender, _"I will not fail again."_

"Lets hope not. While Daron evading capture is not ideal, there are other options that still allow us to get what we need... it simply makes things a bit more complicated."

"_But wouldn't his aid help others find the Darkforge?"_

"Possible, but unlikely. Neither they nor Daron himself would any idea as to why we needed him." the man paused before continuing "Two days ago we lost control of the dig-site on Eden Prime, the agents posted there killed by Spectre Shepard and his team. It is likely that they now have access to the same data we recovered and soon will be able to locate the same prothean outpost we are currently searching. That very same data indicates this outpost may contain another data-disk like the one we were unable to retrieve on the Citadel."

"_What do you need me to do?"_

"As soon as our scientists are done decoding the data, I need you to go there and retrieve that data-disk before Shepard can. This is our one chance to recoup from the setback we faced on the citadel."

"_Do not worry, I will have no trouble retrieving it before him."_

"Lets hope so, I am only so forgiving to failure."

"_...Understood" _the assassin said, lowering his head in affirmation before rising before stepping away from the hologram projector.

The room dimmed as the hologram faded, slowly falling into blackness. The only remaining light was the faint orange glow of a ember, flickering in the dark.


	14. Chapter 14: Into the Depths

_4/20/2210_

_Shepard's footsteps echoed as he sprinted down the dark hallway, his armor clattering as he ran. The screams of pain and terror behind him drawing closer and closer with every passing moment, gaining on him no matter how hard he pushed himself to run faster. _

_Suddenly he lost his footing and fell forward, the ground before him fading away as he fell. He tumbled through the darkness before striking the ground. Opening his eyes, he found himself in a large room of twisted shapes of machinery. His armor was now cracked, fresh blood caking much of the suit. Shadowy shapes closed in around him, encircling him with no hope of escape. _

_Pushing himself up from the ground, grabbed desperately for his rifle, only for it to be knocked away from his grasping hand. The shadowy forms around him suddenly came into focus, the twisted and nightmarish shapes of disfigured men, women, and children lurching towards him. Reaper tech marred and warped their skin in a horrid hybrid somewhere between a human and a husk._

_Clawed hands reached out for him, Shepard screaming in pain as fingers pierced and tore at his skin. As his surroundings fell away in a haze of agony, Shepard gazed into the eyes of one of the monstrosities before him, eyes that were filled with a mix of pain and absolute terror. Eyes that showed awareness of what they were doing, of what they were helpless to resist. _

"Shepard?"

The spectre's eyes shot open as he awoke with a gasp. It took him several confused moments to remember where he was as awareness of his surroundings pushed aside the phantom "reality" of his subconscious mind.

"Shepard?" EDI repeated, the AI's disembodied voice speaking over the ship's intercoms.

"Yes EDI, I am awake..." Shepard answered at last, gazing around the room. Despite still being early in the morning, Tali appeared to have awoken and headed down to engineering some time ago; her side of the bed cold and suit absent from the spot where she had discarded it the night before.

"Liara has finished decoding the data we recovered on Eden Prime and has sent us the coordinates of the prothean outpost mentioned in your vision. The planet is not far off and should only take us a little over two hours to reach it."

"Y-yes, good. Have Joker set a course for the planet as soon as possible." Shepard said, his voice wavering slightly as he spoke. "Tell Garrus and Tali to meet me at the shuttle once we arrive."

"Understood" EDI replied, before closing the open intercom channel.

With a effort Shepard shook off the last vestiges of his nightmare's hold; rolling free of his bed and began gathering his armor from his cabin's wardrobe. He could let the nightmarish memories torment him later, now he had a mission to complete.

**. . . . .**

The display screen of the shuttle flickered to life, displaying the image of the asari on the other end of the transmission.

"Liara," Shepard nodded in greeting, the asari responding in kind."What can you tell us about the planet we are landing on?"

"The planet is a salarian colony by the name of Dathi, being established not long after this planet's discovery two years ago. To date no prothean artifacts have been discovered or any indication that any are present on this planet. This however is unsurprising; the data you recovered puts the prothean outpost in the middle of the largest stretch of jungle on the planet, far away from the nearest inhabited region of the world." Liara explained.

"How difficult will these ruins be to locate?"

"The coordinates are incredibly precise. Providing the ruins are still above ground you should have no trouble locating them."

"Understood."

"I wish you the best of luck." the asari said before ending the transmission.

"Is it just me or has Liara gotten more impersonal since the last time we met?" Garrus asked from his seat in the cockpit of the shuttle, his mandibles tightening in the turian equivalent of a frown.

"Its not just you. I mean, we all know that she became more distant after becoming the Shadow Broker; but I think its been getting worse over the past few years. Its probably because she is alone most of the time, she barely ever leaves her base these days." Shepard replied in a solemn tone. "I worry about her, alone with all that power and information."

"Ya, I do too." Garrus replied

Silence hung over them for a brief second before Shepard spoke up once more, his voice taking on a more serious and businesslike tone. "Okay, we are going to be going in practically blind. This was a small military outpost, and could have any number of automated defenses that might still be functional. The plan is to get in, find a way to access the vault mentioned in the memory I saw on Eden Prime, and get out; with luck we will be long gone before Cerberus arrives."

Tali and Garrus both nodded in understanding, Shepard falling silent once more as they drew ever closer.

The shuttle lurched as it began its decent, the vehicle shooting towards a range of jungle shrouded mountains that rose up before them. They touched down on the planet moments later, Garrus landing half a mile away from their destination in a location where the surrounding jungle would conceal it from unfriendly eyes.

Stepping out of the shuttle and into the rain drenched jungle, Shepard activated his omni-tool, displaying a map of the area with two diamond shapes marking their current location and their destination.

Orientating himself in the direction marked on the map, Shepard took point, followed by Tali, with Garrus taking the rear of their marching order. Due to the jungles undergrowth, it took them over forty minutes to trek from the landing ste to the location the coordinates pointed to.

The ground soon became more rocky as the path began to slope upwards, the jungle around them thinning as they came upon of a jagged cliff that rose before them. The unmistakeable form of prothean architecture jutted from the cliff-face, the crumbling structure almost completely concealed in encroaching overgrowth that had overtaken it.

Coming to a stop, Shepard turned to his squad, beginning to bark are orders. "Tali, you and I will see if we can find the entrance. Garrus, watch out backs, I don't want anyone sneaking up on..."

"_Shepard." _Joker's voice crackled over the comms, cutting off the spectre. _"The Normandy's sensors just picked up something heading your way. Whatever it is, its emissions are partially being hidden, which means its not civilian transport."_

"Thanks for the warning Joker" Shepard answered. "Keep us posted"

"So, are we even going to bother pretending that we don't all know exactly who guests happen to be?" Garrus sighed after Shepard relayed what he had learned from Joker to him and Tali.

"Hmm, I don't know Garrus. How do we know it is Cerberus. Maybe its just a coincidence for once." Tali teased, unable to help but giggle as spoke.

"Tali's right Garrus, you need to be more positive." Shepard added, his voice taking on a slightly sarcastic tone not unlike the quarian's. "Come on, we need to hurry and find the entrance.

The turian grumbled something under his breath that he did not catch as the three began searching the surrounding area. It wasn't long before Garrus came across partially blocked doorway hidden amongst a tangle of vines.

Taking point, Shepard took point at they prepared to enter the ruins. With one last glance to outside world, he descended into the gaping maw of the ruined prothean base.

**. . . . .**

The immediate area inside was choked with rubble, loose earth, and tangled foliage that had overgrown the entrance. For what seemed like hours, but couldn't have been more then five or ten minutes, the trio scrambled, climbed, crawled, and squeezed through the partially collapsed passage way. Climbing up over a pile of rubble, Shepard came out into a large, uncollapsed and non-debris-choked room. The spectre quickly scanned the room; motioning for Tali and Garrus to climb up after him once he was sure the coast was clear.

"Its a good thing the protheans built things to last, far less excavation is needed. Then again it also means more crawling around in dark, desolate tunnels that have been abandoned for tens of thousands of years and could hold any number of horrible things; so you know, it's a trade off." Garrus noted as he ducked up into the chamber after Shepard.

"You really know how to make the mood _so_ _much_ cheerful, don't you Garrus." Tali grumbled as she climbed up after him and dusted herself off, small clouds of dust and dirt coming off her suit as she patted it down.

"I try" the turian grinned.

Moving to sealed door, Shepard motioned for Tali to examine it. "No power." she reported seconds later.

"Guess we will have to do this the hard way" the spectre relied, rolling his shoulders. Using a piece of metal laying amongst the rubble as a makeshift crowbar to force the doors open a inch; Shepard hooked his hands between the gap and slowly began forcing the door open. Garrus moved in to help moments later, and with a effort the doors were forced wide enough for them squeeze through.

Before they could do just that, a light on Shepard's omni-tool flashed, indicating that there was a incoming transmission; the spectre holding up a hand for them to wait as he activated him comms.

Jokers voice once more cracked over the comms, the connection choked with static that drowned out is voice so that only small bursts were understandable. _"Command...,,scanners...that... veh...closing in...be...five, maybe...en minutes... he...hepard? ...yo...ead me..." _

"Joker, we are getting a lot of interference, over."

The pilot's answer was even less clear, Shepard unable to make anything out through the static. "Dammit, something must be blocking communications."

"It could be the base itself, or perhaps our incoming visitors have a communications dampener." Garrus said.

"Either way we won't be able to get intel or warnings from outside, we are on our own." Shepard said, starting forward. "Lets pick up the pace, from what I was able to make out we only have a few minutes before company arrives."

"Lovely" The turian muttered as he followed after Shepard. "You know, its been over twenty-five years since I first met you and I am still not sure if you naturally attract trouble, or are just really good at finding it."

"Really Garrus? I thought that you would know by now thats its a mix of both. I figured that out a long time ago. Its one of the things I have had to learn to put up being married to that bosh'tet." Tali said as she brushed past the turian to walk next to the spectre.

Shepard grinned at her words, replying in a teasing tone not unlike her own. "Really? I always thought it was one of my more endearing traits."

"Sure it is." Tali sighed at him in mock exasperation, to which he only grinned wider from behind his helmet.

Quickly making there way further into the ruins, the trio found little but rubble and badly corroded tech. While many of the side rooms and hallways were collapsed, the main section of the outpost appeared to be mostly intact. Going deeper inside, they soon found a large hallwaysthat was more intact than the rest of the ruins that had already explored, ending in a metal door marked by scorch marks that blocked the path.

Shepard and Garrus turned to watch the way back as Tali moved up to the control panel to the side of the door, the quarian's omni-tool glowing as she kneeled next to it and began scanning it. "Hm... it looks like this door still has a bit of power going to it. Seems like this area could be part of more critical systems, so that as power failed this area continued to receive power as other areas were shut down. Either that, or this area is simply just more intact."

"Get the door open, and we can find out." Shepard said, eyes focused on any sign of movement down the hallway they had just come.

A few moments later there was a click and the door slid open, Tali dusting her self off as stood. "Got it."

"Glad you're here as always Tali. Me and Shepard would have been stuck out here for an hour without you." Garrus laughed, following her inside.

Shepard moved to follow after them, only to stop as he thought he caught a glimpse of moment out of the corner of his eye. Eyes narrowing he stared down the hallway for several heartbeats, eyes glancing for anywhere they could serve as a hiding place. Nothing moved in the still, smooth confined of the metal walls.

"Shepard, you coming" Garrus asked. "I think we may have found the command room. Is there a problem?"

"No, its nothing. Just thought I may have seen something." the spectre replied with a shake of his head before turning and entering the room.

Stepping inside Shepard found himself standing on a command room not unlike the one on Eden Prime. It was smaller, reflecting the much smaller outpost it was part of.

"John, I have established a connection to one of the terminals. They seem to me mostly intact, but most of the remaining data seems to be corrupted." Tali reported as she scanned over a stream of data displayed on her omni-tool, trailing off as she read some snippet of data. "hm, whats this... I think I found a map detailing the layout of the base. Transferring it to your omni-tool."

Activating his own omni-tool, Shepard gazed at the holographic rendering of the bases layout, eyes searching it for any sign of the vault spoken of in his vision.

"There doesn't seem to be any vault on this map." Garrus grumbled, voicing Shepard's own thoughts before he could.

"No surprise, the vault was probably secret. Only high ranking official probably had knowledge of its existence, let alone how to access it." Tali said.

"Damn, you are probably right. We don't have the time for this, dammit. Keep looking, there's not much more we can do but that." Shepard stepped towards the raised control console, hoping that he could find anything that could point them to a way to access to the vault.

Before he could reach it a wave of vertigo hit him in a . His vision dimmed and sounds became muffled as awareness of his surroundings faded away. Flashes of unintelligible thoughts and senses that were not his own darted in and out of him mind as he stumbled closer to the console.

In his head he heard muffled voice speak, too softly for him to understand. He stumbled closer

The voice spoke again, thing time accompanied by a flash of a memory belonging not himself, but Javik. He stumbled closer.

The voice spoke again, the voice clearly that of the prothean commander; the alien words echoing in his mind. _Vikshk idid kuzhan. _His hand touched a smooth black plate on the surface of the panel.

"Vikshk idid kuzhan" Shepard repeated the words echoing in his head, speaking without consciously meaning to. As soon as he had spoke the words the alien memories faded, the spectre losing his footing and having to grab hold on

A glowing green outline appeared on a open space on the far wall in the room with a faint hum. There glow faded as soon as it had appeared, a visible seem now visible where none had been before. With a whoosh of air, the outlined area receded into the wall, leaving a new doorway in its place.

"John, are you all right; how did you do that." Tali asked as she rushed fer to his side

"I...I don't know" he replied shakily, "It was like memories that weren't mine took over for a second, like, and I suddenly knew what to say... it was like whenever Javik tried to read...well, me... I would get flashes of his memories and knowledge."

"Must have picked up more then you thought, either from him or one of the prothean beacons you have interacted with. Like how you understand the prothean language." Garrus offered in explanation.

"Doesn't matter now, what matters is that we found the way into the vault." Shepard said, shaking his head to free himself from the last aftereffects of the alien memories.

Motioning for them to follow, Shepard readied his rifle before warily stepping into the newly formed doorway and into what appeared to be a elevator. No sooner had Tali and Garrus followed him inside, the door sealed shut behind them and the chamber began descending at a rapid rate.

"Typical, a fifty-thousand year old elevator is one-hundred times faster then any on the citadel." Shepard muttered as the elevator came to a stop.

"Twenty-six years and you still haven't let it go?" Tali retorted with a smile.

Stepping out of the elevator they entered a small room, empty but for sealed container imbedded in the walls to either side and a door at the end opposite of the elevator.

Suddenly a dull thump echoed out; followed by a faint humming sound that tore through the room, building in intensity rapidly. As the humming grew, a synthesized voice began speaking. It spoke in the prothean language, which thanks to the cypher, Shepard could understand. _"Non-prothean life signs detected. Vault automated defenses online"_

"Uh, John you understood that, right?" Tali asked, worry edging into her voice.

"Yep"

"It isn't good, is it?" Tali stated more then asked as she readied her shotgun.

"The base's automated systems detected us as non-protheans, defense systems are coming online."

"Lovely" Garrus grumbled "We can never catch a break, can we?"

The humming sound reached a crescendo as two holes opened up in the ceiling, dark metal shapes falling out to land with a thud. A whirring mental noise emanated from the four shapes as they began to unfurl, two sleek security mechs rising. In unison the mechs raised their integrated particle beams, which glowed with a eery green light as they prepared to fire.

With no cover between them and the mechs, Shepard stepped in front of Tali and Garrus, a shimmering omni-shield materializing before him. "Get behind me!"

They moved followed his instructions just in time, twin beams of green energy arcing towards the three and struck Shepard's shield. The fabricated barrier glowed brightly as the continuous beam of plasma smashed into it, but managed to hold.

"Wait for until they vent their weapons, then attack." he incrusted to the turian and quarian standing behind him. After several seconds the beam of plasma stopped as the mech's were forced to vent their overheated weapons, leaving them open just as he had expected.

Tali and Garrus stepped out to either side, shotgun and sniper rifle thundering as they opened fire on the mech. white shields sprung up around both mechs as the rounds connected, deflecting them aside harmlessly.

"Their shields are kinetically sensitive, they automatically deflect all fast moving projectiles." Tali yelled as she ducked back hind Shepard, Garrus following suit just as green energy splashed against the spectre's omni-shield.

"Would a grenade work?" Shepard asked

Tali paused for a moment, thinking about it before answering."It might be slow moving enough to not set off the mechs sensors, but it would have to be a direct hit."

Nodding, the spectre retrieved a grenade with his free hand. _This better work_. Waiting for the mechs to vent their weapon's once more, he primed and threw the grenade.

Thankfully, Tali had been correct; the grenade striking the mech without triggering it's shields. The grenade detonated on contact, shrapnel tearing through the mech's metal plating,

As the first mech fell in a smoking heap, Shepard slowly walked toward the other, making sure his shield still provided cover for his squad. He did not slow as the mech fired once more, inching closer and closer with each passing second. _Wait for it...wait for it._

The instant the mech was forced to vent its overheated weapon, Shepard charged with his shield held out in front of him and threw himself at the mech. Moving with lighting speed, Shepard twisted and threw himself to the side as the mech stumbled back from the impact: leaving a clear opening for Tali, who had run after the mech in the spectre's wake, to move in to fire at point blank range. The tip of her shotgun touching the mech and within the radius of it's shields, Tali fired, blowing a hole clean through the mech.

"Lets hurry and get to that vault before any more of these things show up" Shepard said, deactivating his omni-shield.

Moving past the wreckage of the destroyed mechs, the trio moved into the hallway ahead of them. Passing several smaller side passageways branching off to either side, they approached the vault doors ahead of them.

"Hold on, it will just take a moment" Tali said as they drew closer, jogging on ahead to begin her override attempt on the gate's lock. "The whole system seems to be running on reserve power, only some of the security defenses are online... just need a few more...there" They were greeted by the sound of clanging as the gate's locking mechanisms disengaged one by one.

Even as the gates began to slide open, a overwhelming sense that they were being watched came over the spectre; Shepard turning to look behind them. Out of the corner of his eye Shepard caught a glimpse a shimmer in the space behind them, moving towards them with deadly intent.

"Get down" Shepard yelled, throwing himself into Tali; the quarian lets out of cry of shock as he pushed them both to the floor. There was a buzzing noise and a crack like thunder, a shot fired from a hand canon blowing a chunk out of the wall in the space the spectre and the quarian had occupied a mere fraction of a second before.

The unmistakeable silhouette of a Cerberus phantom appearing in a shimmering flicker of a dematerializeing cloak. With the phantom's appearance, the shape Shepard thought he had glimpsed earlier suddenly came back to mind. _They must have been following us, letting us get past all the vault defenses for them._

The phantom raised her open hand once more, integrated hand canon beginning to glow as it prepared to fire. Raising his rifle in a blur of motion, Shepard took aim and fired; one of the three rounds unleashed catching the phantom in her forearm and disrupting her attack. Pushing his advantage, the spectre fired two more bursts; the phantom's barriers flickering as they weakened under the assault.

The phantom recovered much quicker then he had expected, closing the distance between them and slashing at the spectre in one fluid motion. Throwing himself back, he managed to only just barely avoid the attack. The Cerberus assassin kept up her assault, each consecutive slash missing by a narrower and narrower margin. At last the phantom's blade descended in a attack that Shepard knew, that for all his speed, could not avoid.

A shotgun blast caught the phantom dead center, sending her staggering back. The Cerberus assassin now left open, the his omni-blade forming in a halo of gold light as lunged at her, Shepard stabbed through her chest. Sparing a quick glance over to his rescuer, Shepard nodded at Tali in thanks.

Meanwhile another phantom had uncloaked in-front of Garrus, the cybernetically enhanced assassin baring down upon him with her sword. The turian managing to raise his rifle just in time, the blade becoming stuck as it embedded itself in the gun. Garrus lashed out with one leg, his kick connecting with the phantom's knee with a crack of shattering bones. In a smooth motion, the turian drew his pistol as the assassin fell and fired four shots in rapid succession; finishing the attacker off.

Before the trio could even get a second of pause, the dual sound of two more phantoms uncloaking greeted them. Spinning to face them, Shepard unleashed a hail of rounds at the closest assassin, Garrus joining with his pistol. A overload from Tali punctuated the assault, the phantom dropping within seconds under the combined fire.

A was a faint rattling noise caught Shepard attention before it could be turned to the last phantom. Shepard caught sight of a small metal object rolling towards them a second before it detonated, the grenade creating a blinding flash of light before spewing out a small cloud of smoke that obscured their vision

Straining to see through the smoke screen, Shepard caught sight of the looming shadow lunging towards him. With no time to dodge the descending sword strike, Shepard lashed out and grabbed hold of the phantom's arm and struggled to hold her attack at bay. He held on as the phantom's foot hooked around one of his legs to trip him, dragging them both to the ground. The phantom continued to bare down on him, the spectre unable to push her back no more THAN SHE could descend her blade any further."

As he struggled with the last phantom, Shepard caught sight of the shadowy outline of humanoid shape daring through the now open doorway in the center of the vault. _The phantoms were just a distraction _he realized with a start. With a surge of cybernetically enhanced strength, Shepard threw the phantom off of him. Rolling to his feet, he turned and sprinted after the cloaked Cerberus agent; taking no heed of the phantom he turned his back on.

"John, wait!" Tali called out as he ran past, moving to follow after him while Garrus moved to engage the remaining phantom.

Not slowing down Shepard darted past the open vault doors, coming to a halt in the wide, open space. He could see no sign of the Cerberus agent he had spotted. Just then there was a echoing boom from behind him, the low thud reverberating through the room. Spinning around he saw that the vault doors had sealed shut behind him.

* * *

**Author's Note: **Well, making sure to keep up with college work while continuing to write has been a pain, but has been still managable... well, I should probably say rephrase that as "keeping up with college work while continuing to write; while still having time to play videogames has been a pain" as I am sure I would have no issues getting chapters out quicker.

As for now, Chapters will be posted every 1-2 on Saturdays (works better for me then Friday given my new schedule.) Anyways, thats all for now, laters.


	15. Chapter 15: A Duel In Shadows

_4/20/2210_

"John!" Tali shouted as the vault doors slammed closed with a resounding retort. Rushing forward, Tali closed the remaining distance. Coming to a stop before the gates, she began pounding vainly in her desperation. _Dammit no. There has to be a way in. _Tali thought, worry beginning to flow through here. Logically the quarian knew that she had no real reason to worry, no one in the galaxy could have a better chance of being able to face that Cerberus agent and whatever other dangers waited inside the vault then her _hesh'la_. But logic was not on the forefront of her mind when her s_aera_, her soul's soul, was in danger.

Moving over to the console she had used to open the vault only minutes before, Tali began trying to get door open, her slim fingers practically dancing over the display. Everything was wrong, so very wrong; nothing like it had been before. The door had been shut with more secure safeties to keep it from being opened from this side. Whatever had been done, it had sealed the vault so that only those on the inside could get it open; so that she could not even open the the doors now even if she somehow possessed the prothean passwords and security clearance normally needed to open the vault.

Looking frantically to either side, Tali saw that there were no other side passages leading off from their current position._ There is no way in. Keelah, there is no way in. _

The crack of gunfire caught Tali's attention then. Turning her head she saw that Garrus, having just moments before managed to finish off the final phantom, was now rushing over to her side. "Tali, whats going on? Where's Shepard?"

"John is inside the vault. I tried to follow him, but he ran on ahead of me; I couldn't keep up. He was chasing after a Cerberus agent who ran past while we were fighting the phantoms." Tali answered, a bust of panic washing over her once more. "Garrus, we have to help him, hes all alone in there. While I am sure he can handle that Cerberus agent on his own, what if there are more of those mechs inside."

The turian cursed, saying something neither Tali's nor his translators could manage. "You can still get in, can't you? You did it before?"

"That Cerberus bosh'tet did something, I can't get it open from this side." Tali said, pounding a fist into the door in frustration. "There is not way to open it from this side."

"Tali, there is no door nor any other piece of technology you can't hack. I find it hard to believe you can't get us in." Garrus retorted, gazing at her with piercing eyes filled with expectation.

"I want to help John, but I cannot. Its just not possible." she answered with a shake of her head

"Is there absolutely no chance, not even a miniscule one, that this door can be opened from this side."

"N-no its not impossible, but its as close to it as I can figure." Tali said haltingly.

"Is it any more impossible then anything else we have done?"

"No"

"Then get the door open, Shepard needs our help." Garrus said with so much conviction that startled her.

Tali nodded slowly, confidence of her own beginning to take root. Garrus was right; how could she have given up that easily. _Don't worry John, we're coming,_ Tali thought as she turned back to the vault door and got to work.

**. . . . .**

For several seconds Shepard stared at the now sealed vault doors before him, worry beginning to gnaw at him as he took in the situation. His concern was not for his own safety however, he was confident that he could find a way to reopen the vault doors if given the time. No, he was more worried about his team, about Tali's safety. That thought, the idea of not being able to help them if things took a turn for the worse, worried Shepard far more then anything he could imagine befalling himself. _What if more Cerberus attack her and Garrus. They might be able to hold out on their own. _On a rational level, the spectre knew that both of them could handle themselves; but his concern for his lifemate and his friends often ignored rationality.

A series of soft, barely audible noises of clicking and grinding caught his attention then; bringing his reason for entering the vault springing back to mind. Turning back around he saw a man, clad in gray and black armor, hunched over a computer terminal centered in the left side of the vault. He seemed to not have noticed the spectre's presence.; his focus locked on the console as his hands danced over the holographic interface.

There was a low grinding as a rectangle of dark-gray metal, likely at the man's prompting, rose up from the floor at the far end of the room. Rising to its full height, the top of the rectangle split apart and folded down, relieving a small metal cube. It was dark in color, nearly black; with lines running along it which glowed with a eery green light.

Moving forward, Shepard raised his rifle to a firing position, taking careful aim at the man. "Don't move a inch" the spectre growled in a dire tone.

The man spun at him with speed that surprised Shepard, the man raising once open hand before him just as the spectre opened fire. A dazzling blue kinetic barrier field appeared in a sphere around the man just at the rounds struck; deflecting the incoming attack with ease.

Now with the Cerberus agent facing him, Shepard was able to get a clear view of the man's appearance. He wore gray and black armor. The light-weight plating covered every inch of the man, a masked helmet obscuring his features. The one thing that struck the spectre the most what that the armor appeared very reminiscent of the armor that was worn by Kai Leng; a type of armor only worn by Cerberus' elite assassins.

"I see you managed to make it inside. Looks like retrieving this data-disk won't be as simple as I thought." The assassin noted as he moved slowly, step by step, away from the console and towards the center of the vault, where he would have more room to maneuver.

"Its too much to hope that you are actually about to surrender." Shepard replied, his voice humorless as he prepared to open fire should the assassin make any sudden moves.

The assassin said nothing, his attention locked on Shepard as he stared with deadly intent.

"Fine by me" Shepard said in a low and cold tone as he squeezed the trigger. The first burst caught the Cerberus agent dead center, his shields flaring from the impact. Again and again Shepard fired, and again and the assassin's shields flashed as it deflected the incoming rounds.

The assassin raised his other hand, drawing it back as if to strike. The air crackled with energy, a vortex of purple light swirling around the assassin's hand as he trusted it towards the him. Time seemed to slow to a crawl as the assassin unleashed a biotic shockwave. Shepard threw himself to the side, moving with speed for beyond the realms of normal humans capabilities. As fast as he was, he only managed to partially avoid the biotic attack; the edge of the shockwave striking arm, shoulder, and side. The force of the blast spun him around, falling onto his hands and knees as he lost balance.

The _tink_ _tink_ of metal striking metal met his ears as a grenade rolled to land before him. Moving completely on reflex, Shepard knocked the grenade away with a swipe of his arm as he threw himself to the side in a roll, bringing just out of range of the grenade's blast.

Coming to his feat in a smooth, practiced motion, he raised his gun and fired, another hail of rounds striking the assassin's shields, which stubbornly held under the assault. _Dammit, how many times to have have to hit this bosh'tet before I do any real damage? _

Before he could fire again the assassin hit him with a quick biotic push, yanking the gun from his grasp. Knowing that his pistol would likely fare little better against the assassin's shields then his assault rifle had, Shepard reached for two grenades hooked at his belt, a plan beginning to form in his head.

Leaping to the side to avoid another shockwave, he tossed the first grenade, which landed to the left of the assassin, only inches away from a booted foot. The assassin rolling to a side, moving with swiftness that was beyond human capabilities; likely the result of cybernetic enhancements much like those he himself possessed.

He, however, had expected the assassin would have no trouble avoiding the first grenade. As soon as the frag grenade had left his hand he had thrown a grenade to the right of the assassin; which landed at the very spot which the dodging roll brought his opponent. The assassin caught sight of the grenade at the last second, a biotic barrier springing up around him.

The barrier would have likely protect him his the spectre had used a frag grenade, which unluckily for the assassin, he did not. The grenade detonated in a wave a energy that tore away his biotic barrier and shields, leaving him wide open for an attack. Shepard drew his pistol and fired off two shots, which struck even as the assassin began to dodge, one catching him in the shoulder and the other hitting his arm.

"Impressive" the assassin muttered raising another barrier, deflecting the remaining rounds as the spectre continued to fire.

"Disruptor grenade," the spectre answered, a hint of satisfaction edging into his voice.

At that very moment the assassin lashed out at him, dark energy wrapping around him. He was torn from his feet and flung back, striking the wall with a thud. His vision flashed as he fell, landing crumpled at the wall's base.

Dazed, Shepard fought to regain focus, struggling to move his unresponsive limbs before the assassin could attack again. As his vision cleared saw that, rather then pressing the attack, the assassin had sprinted over to the small containment cube at the far side of the room, snatching it up and hooking it under one arm.

Shaking off the last remnants of his daze, Shepard rolled to his feet and charged the assassin, who unleashed a biotic shockwave in retort. Shepard threw himself into a roll, leaping to the side and avoiding the biotic attack before once more surging forward the moment his feet touched the ground.

The assassin dodged to the side at the last moment, attempting to avoid being tackles. It would have worked, if that had indeed been the spectre's intention. As the assassin leapt to the side Shepard hooked his left arm at him, aiming his strike at the containment unit clutched in one hand. The small metal box was knocked from the man's grasp, striking the ground as it tumbled away.

For a instant Shepard's eyes locked with the assassins', both sparing a quick glance to the fall containment unit as they stared each-other down for several heartbeats. Suddenly, as if both were mirroring the others moments, they lunged toward the fallen container. The assassin reached it a second before him, the man managing to reach out for it seconds before the spectre. Acting quickly Shepard kicked at the container before the assassin could pick it up, once more sending it tumbling out of reach.

The assassin spun at him, drawing his sword as he moved, to slash at the spectre. Shepard leapt back, just managing to avoid the attach. With a small, quick motion he activated his omni-blade, which sprang to life just in time for him to deflect another attack as the assassin came at him again, blade singing threw the air.

Light and sparks flew as the searing-hot omni-blade met the electrically charged Katana. Despite his cybernetics, Shepard found himself struggling to keep pace with the assassin's unnatural speed; able to do more then block and parry the incoming blows.

Seeing that he could not keep this up for much longer, Shepard lunged forward as he blocked an attack, locking their weapons together. Now with no room for either to pull back their weapon to strike, their fight became one of strength: for several heartbeats they struggled with one another, neither able the muster the strength to overpower his opponent. At last both combatants leapt back and broke away from one-another, retreating until several feet of open distance lay between them.

Once more Shepard found himself facing down the assassin once more, the black-garbed man across flicking his sword in small, quick motions as he impatiently stood across from him. With his empty hand Shepard drew a warn combat knife. Eyes meeting in twin glares, Shepard and the Cerberus agent, as if by a mutual agreement, lunged at one another to resume their battle.

_**. . . . .**_

Sweat beaded Tali's forehead she worked in a frantic pace, her fingers almost a blur as she ran nearly three dozen different hacking protocols in unison. Over the past few minutes she had made little progress, managing to force her way through the first line of anti-hacking defenses on the door. Now you was attempting to both brute force her way through, while simultaneously sending a myriad of programs to search for any gaps or holes in the defenses she could exploit.

Just when she had begun to once again doubt that she would be able to find any way to open the vault, she finally had a breakthrough: one of her programs was able to break into the power control systems for the vault door. _Finally, something I can work with_, she thought as a small, satisfied smile cracked through her pursed lips.

While shutting of the power to the door would do little, as the vault door would remain locked by physical mechanisms, she could instead only shut off power for a few seconds. Cutting the power, Tali watched the count down on her omni-tool, preparing to launch all of her hacking protocols to moment power was restored. With luck there would be a small delay before the anti-hacking systems rebooted after a power failure, which should give her a small window of opportunity.

The split second power her returned she launched all hacking programs just like she planned. A seconds ticked by she found herself holding her breath, too anxious to even breath. _Please may this work. Keelah, please may thus work._

Suddenly there was a _click _as the display on the console before her shifted; now showing it as unlocked. Letting out her pent-up breath is a relieved and elated chuckle; the quarian stood. Behind her Garrus moved over to her from his position off to the side where he had been leaning against a wall in waiting.

"You ready?" Tali asked, readying her shotgun as she turned toward the turian.

Garrus nodded, as he raised he readied his own weapon. "Ready when you are."

Turning back to face the door, Tali slammed her fist onto the control panel, the display flashing from red to green. Several audible _clunks_ echoed out as the door's internal locking mechanisms disengaged one by one. With a lurch the vault doors slowly began to grind open.

_**. . . . .**_

Before either could take a single step toward one-another, the sound of a heavy grinding caught their attention. Glancing over, Shepard say that the now closed door was once more sliding open. Moving quickly Shepard sprinted several feet to his left, trying to put himself between the fallen storage-device and the assassin.

The assassin quickly noticed what he was doing, moving to try and dart around him and reach the device before Shepard could cut him off. With the Cerberus agent's superior speed he may have succeeded; but was stopped as a hail of rounds peppered the ground before him.

The source of this aid was apparent as Tali and Garrus entered the room; shotgun and assault rifle trained on the assassin as they moved to surround him. Relief flowed through him as he saw that neither of them had been harmed. His eyes briefly meet Tali's as he glanced over to her, managing to caught a similar relief reflected in her luminous silver eyes.

"Took you two long enough" Shepard said, flashing a quick smile before turning his attention back towards the assassin.

"Good to see you too, Shepard" Garrus replied dryly.

"As you can see, its now three against one. Its over." Shepard said, directing his words at the assassin. As he spoke Tali and Garrus began stepping to either side, moving to better surround the assassin.

The assassin tilted his head slightly as his gaze fell upon the spectre, which sent chills up his spine. Even though the man's face was completely obscured by his mask, Shepard somehow knew he was smiling. "Take him down, now" Shepard growled to the others, omni-blade flashing as he charged.

Before he could take more then single step he was knocked from his feet a biotic push. While the attack had done little more then knock him over, it had succeeded in taking him out of the fight for a handful of seconds, time which he knew all too well could make all the difference in a fight like this.

Shepard rolled to his feet just in time to see the assassin grab hold of Garrus in a coffin of dark energy, lifting the turian from his feet and tossing him at the spectre. Shepard darted to the side, only managing the partially dodge, Garrus' form striking him in a glance blow that knocked him from his feet once more.

Looking up, Shepard watched as the assassin began to turn, coming to a halt as a loud click of a shotgun priming echo's the room. Shepard saw that Tali had moved up behind the assassin, her shotgun pointed at the back of his head. "Don't move or I remove your head from your shoulders." Tali said in a stern tone.

Nobody moved for several heartbeats. Slowly Shepard moved to rise, Garrus doing the same moments later, making sure to keep his eyes locked on the Cerberus assassin. Right as it seemed like the assassin was going to stand down, the man suddenly spun and lashed out at the quarian, moving with speed far beyond that of any normal human. Tali's shotgun was knocked from her grasp before she could react. The assassin seized one of her arms as he ducked around behind her, yanking it behind her back. With his free hand he brought his sword to rest against her exposed neck.

"If you try to attack me; or try to stop me by any other means; she will die." The assassin said in a voice almost completely devoid of emotion, with perhaps a hint of malice seeping into his words.

Shepard did as the assassin said, not daring to move a inch as he glared hatefully at the assassin.

A moment passed before the assassin continued to speak. "If you want her to live, you will do exactly what I say. You are retrieve the storage unit and slide it over to me. Understood."

Shepard did not move at once, his gaze falling on Tali. Her luminous eyes looking into his with a pleading look. Whether she was pleading for him to save her, or for him to forget her and focus on the mission; he could not tell. Either way it did not matter, he had already made his decision.

Slowly purposefully Shepard moved towards the fallen storage device. Picking it up he moved closer to the assassin before bending low to slide it towards him, the small metal container coming to a stop at the man's feet. Slowly the assassin released his grip on Tali, lightly shoving the quarian away as he stepped back. For a split second the assassin glanced at Shepard, a glance that once more sent chills down his spine.

Before anyone could react the assassin brought his sword down in a lightning fast strike, his blade arcing across Tali's exposed back in a spray of scarlet. Tali cried out in pain and shock as she fell to the ground, the assassin snatching up the storage device at his feet and sprinting towards the open doors behind him.

"No!" Shepard shouted, yanking free his pistol and opening fire, to his left Garrus doing the same. Shot after shot ricocheted of the fleeing assassin's barriers, the spectre's gun clicking empty as the assassin disappeared from view.

"Tali" Shepard half whispered, desperation filling his voice as he spoke. letting the gun slip from his grasp, Shepard ran over to where the the wounded quarian lay, dread filling him as he approached her still form. Bending low he gently took hold of her, partially lifting so that the dreadful wound on her back would not touch the floor.

As his touch the wounded quarian 's eyes flickered partway open, unable to find even the strength to open them fully. "John..." Tali whispers in a voice so weak that her words were barely audible to the spectre.

"Garrus, help me. We need to stabilize her now." Shepard shouted, grabbing a tube medi-gel from a pouch at his his belt. He felt tears begin to well in his eyes as he stabbed the injector into a access port along her side. "Tali, just hold on. You have to stay with us, " he said, his voice wavering with worry and concern as he spoke. "I am going to get you help, you are going to get out of this, you understand?"

"I.. understand..." Tali mumbled, her voice as weak as before.

Garrus handed Shepard a injector-tube contain a highly concentrated dose of medi-gel, which the spectre wasted no time in injecting it into the quarian held in his arms. The concentrated medi-gel took effect almost immediately, the formula's clotting agents stanching the flow of blood leaking from the wound on Tali's back. Her breathing began to slow and her eyes fell closed as the powerful sedatives took effect. Soon the wounded quarian had slipped into a medically induced state of near-stasis, which would hopefully keep her alive long enough for them to reach medical attention.

With Garrus's help, Shepard quickly squeezed paste-like medi-gel from a tube and smeared it onto the large gash running across the quarian's her back. Despite his efforts to stabilize her, Shepard could see that Tali was weakening quickly, the quarian having slipped slipped into unconsciousness and her breathing was growing fainter by the minute.

"Garrus, take the lead" He ordered as he gently lifted Tali's limp form from the floor and began carrying his lifemate towards the path he knew would lead him to the exit. "Just hold on Tali, you are going to be all right." He whispered between the tears that slowly rolled down his face, despite his efforts to contain them. "You are going to be all right...you have to be alright. You have to be."

* * *

Authors Note: Yes, yes I am very evil; leaving it off there... **runs away laughing evilly**


	16. Chapter 16: Wounds Old and New

_4/21/2210_

Shepard sat with his arms crossed over his chest against the bulkhead outside the med-bay entrance, his gaze distant. It had been hours since they had made it back to the Normandy; hours since the ship's new medic, Doctor Harre (Doctor Chakwas retired seven years ago), had begun treatment on the critically injured quarian.

Since that time Shepard has sat unmoving from his spot outside the med-bay, consistently refusing to leave until Tali had recovered. The possibility of the alternative was a thought too unthinkable for the spectre to even consider.

Footsteps alerted Shepard that someone was approaching, the spectre didn't even bother to look up and see who it was. "Sorry I was gone so long." Garrus said in a somewhat forced lighthearted tone"There were calibrations I had to attend to, and you know me and working on big guns."

Shepard did not respond, ignoring the turian's attempt to lighten the mood by referencing his notorious reputation for spending all his time calibrating the Normandy's weapons, about which Shepard and the other crew teased the turian about to no end.

Sighing Garrus moved to sit next to Shepard. "How is she?"

"Condition is still bad, but Doctor says it looks like she will pull through. It could have been much worse, only a minor infection as a result of her suit being breached. If this had happened twenty years ago, back when her immune system was not as strong as it is now... then there would have been little chance of her... surviving" Shepard answered, finding it difficult to even consider those thoughts, let alone speak them.

Garrus nodded, saying nothing. Minutes ticked by before Shepard spoke in a hoarse , barely audible whisper. "He could have killed her, you know."

For his part, Garrus said nothing; but Shepard got the feeling that the turian was waiting for him to continue."When that assassin grabbed Tali, he could have killed her at any time; it would have been easy, effortless... and there would have been nothing I could have done to stop him." Shepard said, hanging his head as he spoke. "The only reason he didn't kill her is because he needed to make sure I wouldn't follow him. He needed to make sure there was a chance she would live, make sure I stayed to help keep her from dying."

Garrus nodded slowly, staying silent for several moments before saying. "Its not your fault that she got hurt, you can't blame yourself for that."

"I know that dammit... I mean, this is nothing new. Tali as been right there with us since the very beginning, right through the very worst of it. She would never stay behind for her own safety, even if I tried to make her..." he replied softly, tailing off. Several moments ticked by before he let out a sigh and continued. "Its just...its just been so long; so very long since she has been in danger like that. I guess that over the past few years I have gotten used to Tali not being put at risk."

"You already seem to have figured that out without my help. So then, what is really bothering you then?"

"I was selfish, Garrus. I should have gone after him, let you tend to Tali's injuries. How can I justify risking the lives of who knows how many by letting Cerberus get their hands on that data-disk for the sake of one person, no matter how much she matters too me."

"Shepard, we both know you would never sacrifice _anyone_ like that; let alone someone you love."

"Garrus, it wasn't even a choice between her life or the data." the spectre retorted, frustration seeping into his voice. "I could have followed after him, got the data disk while you helped her! Instead I let my own concerns and feelings stop me from doing what needed to be done. I stayed behind because I couldn't bare leaving her if there was even the smallest, unlikely chance that she could die and me being there could save her."

Shepard shook his head sadly before continuing. "The fact of the matter is, I failed. I let Cerberus get their hands on the storage-device, I let them win because of my own selfishness. If I had tried to get the data instead, I would..."

"...would not be John Shepard." Garrus replied, putting emphesis on the rare use of the spectre's full name. "If you had not done everything you could to save Tali, even at the cost of the mission, you wouldn't be the man who has been the best damn friend I have ever had. Nor would you be him if you didn't beat yourself up over your decision like you are doing right now."

Shepard slowly raised his gaze, a hint of a smile breaking in to his features. When he spoke, his voice was a little stronger then before. "Thanks Garrus, I needed that... Tali just means the world to me, and having to choose between herself and whats best for the galaxy as a whole, then seeing her hurt..."

"You are allowed to be just a person from time to time, Shepard. You don't have to pretend to be the invincible hero that the galaxy seems to think you are, at-least not around me. We have been friends far too long for that." Garrus said, briefly placing a reassuring hand on the spectre's shoulder before standing up. "I also happen to know you well enough to know that you aren't going to move from that spot until Tali has recovered. So rather then force you to get something to eat and to get some rest, I suppose I will have to bring you some food."

Shepard nodded in thanks as the turian left, his heart perhaps just a bit lighter then it had been in the hours since Tali was injured. Even so he kept his vigil outside the med-bay, waiting there long into the night.

_**. . . . .**_

The first sensation Tali became aware of as consciousness slowly returned was a faint burning running the length of her back. Slowly more sensations came into focus: a dull ache along her side, soft fabric against her skin. It took her haze shrouded mind a period that felt like an eternity to realize she was not wearing her suit, she could not feel it tight around her skin, blocking out all other touch. _What happened? Where am she? The last thing I remember was a burning pain and..._

Slowly she blinked her eyes open, finding herself staring up at the ceiling of the captain's quarters, stars twinkling through the open skylight. The room was thankfully dark, her sensitive eyes untroubled by the soft blue glow cast by the fish-tank.

A dozen different questions leapt to mind as she slowly looked around her, wincing as jolts of pain lanced up her back whenever she shifted from where she lay. She then became aware that another hand held hers in a soft grip. Turning her head to her side, She saw john sat in a chair to her right, her hand grasped within his own. He appeared to be asleep; his eyes closed and head bent low so that his chin rested ahead his chest.

John shifted in his chair as she closed her hand around his, blinking as he raised his head; his eyes coming to rest on her's. "You're awake." he said softly, his voice wavering as he spoke. "I-I though I had lost you when you fell... I..."

She smiled softly back at him; reaching out with her other hand to cup the side of his face. Her gaze still locked with his, she tried her best to convey and assure him that she was fine with a single look. "You worry too much."

That got a soft, relieved laugh out of him. "Look whose talking. I had thought I was supposed to be the one who is constantly cheating death."

"Can't let you have a monopoly on that, can I?" she replied, moving to lean against him affectionately.

"I suppose you can't" John answered with a soft chuckle, moving up from where he sat to sit on the bed next to her, allowing her to move closer into his side. She felt his hand slowly stoke her raven-black hair, then he spoke in a voice somehow managing to contain all of his love and affection for her. "Just don't ever do that to me again."

"Only if you don't either." She said, closing her eyes as she enjoyed her lifemate's closeness, a small smile gracing her lips as she drifted back off into sleep.

**. . . . .**

"John, do you mind if I ask a few questions?" She asked, speaking up after several minutes of quiet. She had only dozed for about an hour, before awaking once more, since then she and John had mostly sat together in silence, both content to merely enjoy each-others presence.

"Ask away."

"Well, for one, why aren't I in the med-bay?"

"Doctor Harre decided it would be best if you were not confined to your suit while you recovered; so we moved you here after your condition had stabilized to the point that she was sure you were no longer in any real danger. The cabin is airtight after all, so all we needed as a portable decontamination unit to turn it into a makeshift clean room."

"Makes sense I guess, not that I'm complaining."

"Glad to hear it. Any other questions I can answer for you?"

Tali was quiet for several heartbeats, considering her next question carefully. "What exactly happened down there? Everything right before I lost consciousness is a blur." Tali asked. The last thing I remember was being held hostage by that Cerberus bosh'tet. Then a horrible pain across my back..."

"He attacked you after I have him the containment device, hit you in the back when you couldn't defend yourself."

Tali was silent for a moment, catching a pained look within her _saera's_ eyes. "How bad was it?"

"Bad, his sword cut a deep gash nearly the length of your back. You were bleeding heavily and had already lost a lot of blood by the time I got over to you; it took nearly all the medi-gel we had just to keep you alive long enough to get you back to the Normandy."

"I assume that you would have already told me if there was any lasting damage?"

"Thankfully nothing that serious. The sword didn't go deep enough to hit your spine, and somehow didn't hit any of your major nerve clusters; so yes, there should be no lasting damage."

"I bet there's going to a big scar there, though." she said, flashing a small, lighthearted smile.

"Nothing worse than any I have."

"Then it's good that it's on my back and not my face. I wouldn't want to match with you and Garrus." She said with a laugh. "No offense to you, but I would rather do without facial disfigurements."

"Ouch, that hurts, Tali" he replied in a mock offended tone. "I thought you liked men with scars?"

"Generally I don't, you're just good looking enough to make up for it."

I suppose I am." Her lifemate answered as he leaned down, his lips meeting her's in a long, tender kiss. Pulling away after a few long, passionate moments; he resumed speaking."Well, now that the good news is out of the way, time for the bad. Doctor's orders are that you will need to be bedridden for at least a few days, and that you are to avoid any strenuous work for an week or so after."

She let out a sound that was somewhere between a groan and a exasperated sigh. "John, I'm fine; I don't need time to recover, believe me. I wouldn't consider not pulling my own weight; this mission is too important and there is too much that needs to be done. "

"Don't give me that Tali, we both know that whats best for you is to recover. Your health is far more important than your duties as engineer; at least to me, if not yourself.

"I just don't like laying here when I could be helping in some way, you know that." she said in protest.

"Tali..." he said in a tone stern as he gazed at her with understanding look.

Letting out a long sigh, she relented, conceding to his logic. "Okay, fine...you are right, of course. I have to take time to recover, or I could just make things worse."

"Just be thankful it only a week or two that you will be out of commission. Remember how long I was in the hospital after the battle of london? Which, god... how long was that? three weeks?"

"It was just over a month, you were unconscious for the first week of it, remember?" she answered.

"Ah, right." Shepard grinned.

Whether it was the over-exaggerated manner in which he had spoken, or because of of the wide, goofy grin; Tali broke into a fit of uncontrollable giggling; her lifemate joining her with his own, deep laughter.

As their laughter faded, Tali saw a somber, pained look beginning to replace the laughter in John's eyes. He gazed at her in silence for several moments before whispering softly. "I am glad you're alright, Tali..."

His quiet tone left her with no doubt that something was bothering him. "John... whats wrong?"

"I let that Cerberus agent get away with that prothean artifact, Tali. After you fell, I couldn't even think of doing anything but try to save you. I could have gone after him while Garrus tended to your injuries... Or even told Garrus to chase after him while I stayed with you, instead of ordering him to help me stabilize you. I was selfish, I..."

"John" Tali replied, cutting in with a gentle but stern tone. "You know as well as I do that you would never be that cruel. Not to me, not to anyone else. Its not your fault he got away, and its not over as long as we can still try. We _will _stop Cerberus, I promise."

"I know, but... I should have been faster dammit."he said with a grimace, the bed frame creaking as one of his hands clenched tightly around it. "I wasn't good enough, and you got hurt. If I could have stopped him quicker, maybe even before you and Garrus entered, you wouldn't have been hurt, nor would Cerberus have gotten the artifact.

"It's okay, John. I..." she said, trying to cut in, only for him to continue his tirade.

"I wasn't good enough, and because of that not only is Cerberus one step closer to finding the Darkforge, but now we have nothing. No data, no leads, nothing.

"Maybe not, because..." she started to replay, only to stop as John interrupted her again.

"How then!? We don't have the faintest idea where they will strike next, nor the location of any of their bases." the human said, his voice raising to a shout.

A resounding smack echoed the room, as she reached out a slapped him hard across the side of his face. "John, you bosh'tet; stop beating yourself up. At least stop being such a stubborn idiot long enough for me to finish speaking." she shouted, her exasperation and frustration at her lifemate getting the better of her. Now that she had finally caught his attention, the quarian spoke in a gentler tone. "John, I know how you are feeling; but you don't have to blame yourself for what happened. You did what you thought was right, which is all I or anyone else can ask."

Tali, paused, reaching out to space her empty hand on top of his; her voice taking on a more playful tone as she spoke again. "Besides, things didn't turn out nearly as bad as you think they did. A certain quarian might have been smarter then you and Garrus. Smart enough to place a tracker on that Cerberus agent when he was distracted tossing my idiot husband around."

He stared back at her with a almost comical, dumbfounded look. "...When? How?"

"Right before I pointed my shotgun at his back, I threw a small tracking probe onto his back. Unless he discovered it, it should still be transmitting its location to my omni-tool."

"Tali, you amazing, wonderful, beautiful, genius. Why didn't you tell me sooner?" John exclaimed, his lips meeting her's as he threw his arms around her in a tight embrace. Tali felt a small, gasping groan escape her as the hug sent a jolt of pain through her injured back.

"I tried to, but you kept interrupting me." she laughed. "Also, please don't hug me that tight, it hurts."

"Sorry" He mumbled sheepishly as he released her from his embrace.

"It's alright." Tali giggled at him, reflexively reaching to activate at her omni-tool. She was not wearing it of course, as she currently wore nothing more then a hospital gown. Looking to him questioningly, John motioned with his chin towards the nightstand to her right. Nodding in thanks, she reached to over to grab it; securing it on her wrist before activating it.

Bringing up the tracking data, she transferred it over to her lifemate's own omni-tool."The tracking program I placed only sends basic navigational data, so you will have to have someone interpret it. You should probably send it to Liara as soon as you can. With it and her resources as the Shadow Broker, she should be able to get us the_ "address_" of whatever Cerberus outpost that _Det kazuat _ crawled off to."

She caught a familiar impatient look surge up in John's eyes as she spoke. As she finished he turned his head to briefly glance at the door; visibly torn between wanting to act on this new information and his desire to stay at her side."

"Go on, I'll be fine." She smiled at him, partially to reassure him, partially in bemusement. "I'm tired so I will be asleep for most of the time you are gone anyways."

"But..." He asked, still hesitating.

"John, don't be stubborn. I'm not about to try escaping or anything else stupid. You can leave me by myself for more than a couple of minutes."

"Are you sure you are going to be alright? You might need me to be here if something..."

"Just go, you big bosh'tet. Don't make me get the shotgun." Tali said with a chuckle, waving him off towards the door.

"Okay, okay, if you insist" He smiled, leaning down the plant of brief kiss upon her lips before leaping off of the bed and darting for the door.

After he had stepped through the first set of doors (which sealed airtight behind him, thus not causing any contaminated air to enter once he entered the elevator) Tali shook her head with continued bemusement. _That's my John_ Tali mused, lowing herself back down to lay fully upon the bed; and closed her eyes; smiling as she slowly drifted back into sleep.

**. . . . .**

"It appears that the tracker transmitted a signal for almost nine hours before it cut out, likely having been discovered at that point by the Cerberus agent" Liara explained, looking up from the data she was reading.

"Yes, I'm aware Liara. Does it help in any way?" Shepard replied, staring back at the hologram before him.

"Impatient as ever." the asari muttered with a small smile, speaking just loud enough so that he could hear what was said. "While this data cannot lead us directly to any Cerberus bases, it is by no means useless to us. The signal cuts out some time after his ship exited from the relay in the **Antaeus** system. Since the ship was moving away from the Relay, it is unlikely that this was merely a stop: meaning that there is likely a base or outpost somewhere in the Hades Gamma cluster. I shall have my agents in the area begin searching for any sign of Cerberus presence in the area.

"How long will it take?" He asked, scowling in frustration and disappointment.

"I cannot say for certain, it could only take a few days if we're fortunate; or it could take weeks. You will have to be patient, Shepard: we aren't going to find the location of every Cerberus outpost."

_Figures, _he through to himself, his scowl deepening. _I guess I should be thankful we have something at least; but dammit, the more time we sit here on our asses t__he closer Cerberus gets to the Dark _Forge.

He stood silently for a few seconds, before asking."Has Ria's team at least managed to find something? Or have they had little more luck then we have?"

"Sadly not. Her group managed to stop Cerberus's actives on Omega. While in doing so they undoubtedly delayed or otherwise impeded Cerberus's efforts, they did not find anything to point them in the direction of the Darkforge," the asari replied. "Besides that I can't speak openly now, you know that. The less either your team or her's knows about the others activities, the better. I am sure you are well aware that risk of Cerberus spies is too great for us to act with anything other then absolute caution."

"I know, doesn't make it any easier though." he replied with a scowl. "

Liara paused for a moment, seeming to give the question deep thought before replying. "I think I may have discovered the location of something that could very well help us translate the prothean data disk Ria team has. I am not sure yet, it will likely be a few days before I can verify the information... I need to be sure before I consider sending it to Ria."

"Liara, once you are sure, let me handle it instead." Shepard said, speaking in a demanding tone.

The asari did not reply at first, instead staring at him intently for several heartbeats. "... No, I don't think I will."

"Dammit, Liara!" he shouted back, frustration and anger evident in his voice.

"If you recall, you agreed that Ria's team would focused on locating the Darkforge, while you concentrated on Cerberus directly. She and her team are as much a part of this as you are. I am not going to force them to sit by and do nothing, nor will jeopardize the plan that you agreed on taking."

"Liara, I'm ordering you to give me that information" he shouted, anger and frustration completely overtaking him.

"You can't order me to do anything, I'm not part of your crew; or did you forget that?"

"I won't let Ria be put in anymore danger if I can help it. I'm not going to let her get hurt!" he shouted, slamming his fist into the console before him with a resounding thud, leaving a dent in the metal.

Liara was silent, her eyes locked with his. He breathed heavily, his hands clenching and unclenching with pent up frustration and he glared back at her.

"Shepard, I know you are worried and frustrated but you can't keep trying to protect her." she said, speaking in softer tone. "Ria is an adult, and she is well aware of the danger, and the risks. She knows that she or her friends could get hurt, or even killed. But she is also willing to do whatever she can despite this, to give her own life if she had to; just like you would in her do in her position."

"I...I just don't want her to get hurt. Yesterday I watched as Tali was almost killed, because I couldn't protect her. I don't want that to happen to Ria, not when I can help her. I don't know what to do."

"What you can do is trust your daughter, Shepard" Liara said, reaching out so the projected image of her hand rested just above his shoulder. "You once told me that you always believed that no matter how dark or hopeless things can become, that it would turn out right in the end. This situation is no different, no more hopeless or dire then anything you have faced before. Trust that your daughter will do whatever she can, just like you will; trust that everything will work out for the best."

Shepard hung his head, not meeting the asari's sympathetic gaze. She was right of course; but even knowing that didn't make her argument any easier for the spectre to accept. After a long period of silence Shepard finally found the composure to at last answer. "Liara...I'm sorry. I'm just tired... of the people I care about being hurt, tired of reminders of the hell I've went through. For a long time I thought I had escaped it, but fate has cheated me. Here I'm, nearly twenty-five years later, fighting against Cerberus, and before that..." he fell silent, unable to find the courage to continue down that line of thought.

"...It was that mission five years ago, wasn't it." Liara said to him softly. "You never really talked to about it, did you? Tali was the only one you ever spoke to about it, and even then you never fully discussed it...did you?"

Shepard winced at her words; A lump formed in his throat as he tried to speak. Unable to bring himself to words the spectre slowly shook his head in answer.

"I can't pretend to understand what you are feeling, Shepard: but I can say that I'm here for you, if you need someone to talk to. As is Tali, and Garrus, and all of the rest of us. You don't have to shoulder all the blame for everything world the throws at you; at least not alone."

Shepard nodded in acceptance of her words. Feeling as though the conversation had come to an end, Liara replied in closing "I shall be in contact as soon as I discover more... and Shepard, take care of yourself."

As Liara's hologram vanished, Shepard found himself alone in the Normandy's comms room. For some time he stood alone in the dim, his eyes squeezed shut and clenched hands shaking: fighting against the shadowy images of the past that loomed over his mind.

* * *

**Author's Note:** What, did you guys think I was actually going to kill Tali? I would never do that...at least not this early into a story. Speaking of the "evil cliffhanger", I noticed that I got over twice as many reviews for chapter 15 then I did any other chapter. As I am a sucker for feedback, maybe I will have to do that sort of thing more often, hmmm?

In other news, as some of you may or may not be aware; Bahoogasmif, the author of _Wings of Fire, _has(in addition to taking on the role of beta-reader for my story) begun a new story called Legacy of Fire, that in addition to continuing his own storyline also serves as a prologue to my story. So ya, shout out to him for that and all of you should totally go check it out.

_PS: to make the continuity of said stories make sense, I had moved the events of this story back by 1 year. This really changes nothing, and is just done so for things to make a bit more sense._


	17. Chapter 17: Noveria

**Author's note:**You have probably noticed that I have placed the author's note at the beginning this time, which is mostly due to myself feeling that I need to address the fact that I am honestly not very happy with how this chapter turned out. Between school work taking up a lot of my time, getting sick twice over the past month, and dealing serious writers block, this chapter was written over the course four weeks (with periodic editing for another 2) and when through several major rewrites. Overall I really am not happy with how the chapter turned out, but as a complete rewrite would take far too much time and with it looking like I will be having even less free time until winter break starts in three weeks; I decided to go ahead and just post it.

The only bright side I can think of is that with myself being two chapters ahead at the time meant that it didn't effect my update schedule, and with still being a chapter ahead by one chapter means that even if I cannot work for the next few weeks there should be no delay in the update schedule. Anyhow, I once again apologies for the rather poor quality of this week's chapters, and I hope to make it up to you all later.

_Edit: Thanks go out to Bahoogasmif for getting back to me with grammer and spelling edits so quickly after the chapter was posted.  
_

* * *

_4/25/2209_

"Ria, its good to see you!" the holographic image of Liara T'Soni smiled at her. After nearly a week since her teams encounter with Cerberus on omega, Ria had almost begun to fear(rather irrationally come to think of it) that the asari would never contact her again

Ria nodded in greeting, tilting her head to the side in a gesture that was the quarian equivalent of smiling when wearing their suits. "Good to see you as always, "Aunty" Liara. I take it you have found something?"

"Indeed, I believe I have discovered the location of a working prothean Code-Matrix" the asari beamed at her.

Ria perked up at this news. She of-course remembered that a Code-Matrix would be required to access the data stored on the data-disk Kel had taken from Eden Prime; but given how rare said devices were, she had personally had little hope that they would find one. "You did?! Where? Who has it?"

"It is in the possession of a small research firm known as Eridu Technologies, one of the few privately owned research firms granted the right to legally study recovered prothean technology." The asari explained, pride and glee at what she discovered seeping into her voice. "If my sources are correct, the device itself is currently being held at once of their research bases located on Noveria."

"How didn't we know about it until now?" Ria asked at last.

"It has long been rumored that they did indeed possess a working, though badly damaged, Code-Matrix; but until recently I had never been able to confirm these rumors." Liara answered. "It appears that they have taken great pains to keep this information a secret; likely to give them an edge over competitor's. In doing so they are playing a dangerous game however, as keeping this technology for themselves is clearly against Council laws."

Ria nodded in understanding. "So, how do we get inside the research facility? I take it not just anyone is allowed inside."

"There are two entry points that can be used. One is a hanger built into the base itself, mostly as a way to receive supplies But it is inaccessible without it being opening from the inside. Instead, you and your team will be using a tram line that runs between the base and the Noveria capital of Port Hanshan. You will need to go there and get authorization for boarding the tram."

"How are we supposed to get access to the tram? I thought that only Council Spectres have the right to investigate into the activities of the corporations housed on the planet."

"Normally you would be correct, this is not the case when it comes to Eridu Technologies. Due to being based primarily within council space, and the nature of the research they conduct there, they have a longstanding agreement with the council that permits non-spectre agents to investigate on council orders." The shadow broker paused, taping a key on her computer terminal to transfer a stream of data to the console on Ria's end. "To take advantage of this, I have taken the liberty to create forged-council orders to give you permission to get access to the research base."

Ria nodded, seeing where the asari was going with her plan. "...and since the Invisible is an Council ship, we should keep up appearances of a team sent to investigate."

"Indeed." Liara said with a nod. "Once you get past port security, you will likely have to take the "orders" I have provided to you the port's administrator. If all goes according to plan, you should have no trouble convincing him to grant you access to the tram-station."

"Got it." Ria said with a sharp nod.

"However I must warn you, I fear I will be able to do little more then get you access to the facility. I have have already to pull numerous strings to accomplish just that much. Once you are inside, it will be up to you to decide how best to proceed."

"Don't worry, we will figure it out" the quarian answered. _Somehow... I hope._

"Excellent. In have also sent you blueprints of the research base itself, as well as some other background information that could be useful for your mission."

"I am sure it will be of use." Ria nodded.

"In that case, all I can do is wish for your success. Take care of yourself, Ria'Shepard"

"You as well" Ria replied as the hologram of the asari winked out of existence.

Sighing wearily, Ria gazed upward and called out to the ships 'AI'."Core, tell Talena to set a course for Noveria."

"Affirmative. My estimates indicate that we will arrive at Noveria in four hours, fifteen minutes, and thirty-nine seconds. Will you require anything else?"

"Yes, inform the ground team to meet me in the com room." Ria replied, resting her helmeted head against her open palms; attempting to compose herself so should could act the part of the team's leader.

**. . . . .**

"Focus on maintaining the field, Kel. Don't let your concentration waver."

The quarian dipped his head slightly in understanding, not daring to nod more visibly else even the small effort disrupt his concentration. The glow of dark energy around the hovering crate flickered, the box wobbling dangerously as his concentration lapsed for a fraction of a second. Redoubling his efforts, the glow resumed its previous intensity, the box once more stable.

"Good, very good. Lets see if you can maintain it." Jalin said from where he stood off to the side.

The quarian swore the salarian sounded gleeful. for what reason he couldn't begin to fathom. _I can't be doing that well, I mean; this isn't especially challenging or anything _he wondered. _Maybe..._ at that moment this line of thought was disrupted as suddenly something small and solid struck him in the shoulder.

He staggered back a step, he concentration fleeing from him as surprise and dull pain replaced it. He felt his control over the biotic field begin to slip away almost immediately, the biotic field around the crate dissipation. Desperately the quarian tried to batter aside his surprise and reestablish control. Despite his best efforts he found he could not regain focus quickly enough, only managing to halt the crate's fall for a handful of seconds before it struck the floor with a solid thud that echoed throughout the hanger-bay.

Looking around for what had hit him, Kel saw a small, metal red sphere laying a few feat away;. Recognizing it as one of the small padded balls that had been used during previous training sessions; generally with him having to deflect the thrown projectiles with his biotics

"What was that for?" Kel asked the Salarian, surprised and a more then a bit confused.

"To test your ability to concentrate, even when circumstances make it difficult to concentrate." The salarian explained, smiling a bit too cheerfully. "Often times using your biotics will call for you to open yourself up to enemy attacks; so you need to be able maintain a biotic field even when under fire. The only way for you to practice this if for me to simulate an enemy attack."

"B-but, couldn't you have at least warned me." Kel frowned, rubbing his aching shoulder.

"In a real fight, would your enemies warn you before shooting you?" The salarian countered.

"No... I guess not." Kel said, lowering his head sheepishly. "That... keelah, that was terrible wasn't it?"

"Much to the contrary, was an excellent first attempt"

"But... I lost control of the biotic field." Kel said, shaking his head slowly.

"Yes, you did fail to maintain your concentration. But you also recovered quickly enough to reestablish a biotic field for three seconds after your lapse in concentration caused the first to fail." The salarian said with a reassuring smile. "You need to be more confident with yourself, not to mention give yourself far more credit then you do. Our training sessions have shown that you already have a mastery over the basics, and that you possess an innate talent for the creation of biotic shields and other defenses."

Kel felt a bit of pride swell up at Jalin's words, raising his gaze. "You... you aren't just telling me that to make me feel better?"

"If I were to do so it would mean I am giving you expectations far outside your capabilities; which would do more harm then good." the salarian said, moving to retrieve the padded ball he had thrown before moving back to his original position."Now, lets try that again."

Nodding the quarian turned his focus back to the fallen crate. Taking slow, deep breaths to calm himself, he slowly reached out towards it. A flickering aura of dark energy slowly flared to life around his outstretched hand as he-

Just before he could begin, the synthesized voice spoke over the comms. "Lieutenant Kalerihn, Creator-Valah; Creator-Shepard instructed me to inform you that your presence is requested in the comms room."

"Understood, Core. We will be right there." Jalin replied, turning toward the elevator without delay. "It looks like we are going to resume practice later."

"I...yes, of course." Kel asked, following after the salarian.

**. . . . .**

_Port Hanshan, Noveria. Time: Several hours later_

"Well that took longer then expected" Ria groaned once the last of her squad passed through the security checkpoint.

"It could not have been helped, the Noveria Corporations have strict laws as to who and what is permitted to set foot on the planet. We are lucky screening process was as expeditious as it was." Jalin replied, the salarian's voice painfully cheerful despite the _"hell"_ they had been forced to endure.

Since they landed on Noveria nearly three hours before, they had been to a long and arduous screening process by port security. After the first hour Ria had feared that they wouldn't be permitted to step foot inside the port at all; but Liara had been true to her word; with the forged orders and faked clearance apparently "checking out" allowing them to at last be permitted to enter.

Glancing around, Ria checked to make sure all members of her team were accounted for. Besides Jalin, Ria had decided that the ground team for this mission would be Laura, Daron, and Kel. Tarran had tried to insist that he come as well; but due to his broken arm being not yet fully healed Ria had refused; managing with some difficulty to convince the turian to stay behind.

"At least they let us keep our weapons" Laura noted, checking the clasp holding her rifle in place to highlight her point. "Which is odd, as I thought that only Spectres were permitted to do so."

"Normally, yes; but under special circumstances council teams are given the same rights. It would appear with her immense resources, Doctor T'Soni was able to "grant" us the same allowances." Jalin explained in response to the soldier's question.

"Well, at least now all we need to do is talk to the port Administrator so we can get clearance to access the research facility." Ria said, turning her attention back to the matter at hand. "Jalin, since you are the only one of us who _**actually**_ is employed by the council, you will do most of the talking; which should help keep up appearances."

"Understood, logical decision. If needed could easily verify my status as member of SR3 program, would go long way to convincing validity of our claims." the salarian replied with a sharp dip of his head.

"Exactly." Ria replied. "Now, lets hurry up and meet with this administrator. The sooner we get this done the sooner we can get the Code-Matrix and the sooner we can get off this rock."

Waiting until Jalin had taken the lead before starting, the team made their way towards the section of the port that contained the administrator's office. It took them only a handful of minutes to navigate their way through the winding tunnels that lead to their destination.

Coming to a stop outside the office, Jalin stepped forward and pressed the call button to the side of the closed doors, alerting whoever was inside to their presence.

"Yes yes, come in already. I was notified that you would be arriving." an voice laced with irritation called out to them.

Stepping inside, Ria found herself inside a large office, decorated by potted planets and a wide window from which the blizzard roaring outside could be seen. At the far end of the room stood a large, wooden desk, behind which sat a turian wearing expensive looking clothes. As the rest of her team filed in, the turian glanced up towards them, his mandibles tightening in a expression that Ria recognized as the turian equivalent of frowning.

As planned, it was Jalin who stepped forward, extending a hand towards the turian in greeting. "I am Lieutenant Jalin Kalerihn of the Council SR3 program, It is a pleasure to meat you, Administrator...?"

"Vliarus" the turian spat with clear irritation. "Lets dispense with the pleasantries, Lieutenant. Tell me what you need me to do to get you off this planet as soon as possible."

"Understandable" Jalin replied, evidently unperturbed by the administrator's hostility. "I am under orders from the Council to investigate the possible illegal actions of the Eridu Technologies corporation. To follow through with our assignment, we require the proper clearance to access to the Echo 13 Researchbase."

The administrator froze still as if he had been turned to stone, his expression unreadable. At last, he spoke "... I will need to see the council's orders on this matter. Quickly, I am a very busy man"

Jalin activated his omni-tool, sending the administrator the forged files and clearance codes Liara had provided. Gazing at the screen of his computer terminal, the turian was silent for a long while, before at last he returned his gaze to the salarian. "Your request for access to the Echo 13 Research base is denied. This decision is non-negotiable. If the council disagrees, they can take it up with the investor's board at a later date. You may leave now, I am a busy man and don't have time to wait on these matters further."

"What?! You can't just..." Ria shouted, taking a step forwards before she stopped herself.

The turian did not bother to even glace at her, his nearly inscrutable gaze flashing with anger as he spoke to Jalin once more. "Please keep your subordinates under control Lieutenant, else I will have port security throw you off my station."

Jalin turned his gaze to meet Ria's, shaking his head slowly in gesture that arguing with the administrator was pointless. Ria opened her mouth to protest this, but then shut it again, as she knew the salarian was right. Anger and frustration rising within her, Ria grudgingly followed the salarian out of the office.

**. . . . .**

"Sonova bitch" Laura fumed once they were out of earshot. "There goes our entire plan A."

Ria slammed a fist into a nearby wall in her frustration. She immediately regretted it as pain lanced through her hand and up her arm when it impacted the unrelenting stone. Shaking her hand with a grimace, Ria turned back to her team. "Thanks Laura, I never would have guessed." the quarian replied in a voice dripping with sarcasm and with venom that surprised her.

"Hey, don't you hell lash out at me for this. I am just as angry as you are" the human soldier replied bluntly, her frown deepening.

"Your right. Sorry." Ria muttered in apology. "Its just... the forged orders should have worked, now without them I...what do we do now?"

Quiet fell over the group, everyone clearly at as much as a loss as she was.

"It should have worked." Jalin half murmured, breaking the silence.

"What should have worked?" Ria asked.

"In all rights, the "council orders" Doctor T'Soni provided should have been sufficient to allowed us entry. She already had managed not only to get us access to the port; and was able to get us clearance to keep our weapons; a right typically allotted only to Council Spectres. The administrator's actions seem unusual, given the circumstances. We bring him clear orders from the council, that was far as he is concerned, or can verify at the given time, are genuine: to which he responds angrily and threatens to have us thrown out. I can't be the only one who find that more then a bit odd."

"Maybe he knew the orders were fake somehow." Laura offered as a explanation, frowning.

"No, if the administrator knew he would have likely attempted to have us arrested on the spot." the salarian answered. "The only logical conclusion I can come up with is that..."

"that for some reason he doesn't want us to get access to Eridu Technologies research base." Ria said, finishing the lieutenant's statement. "Do you think he was bribed to not let anyone in? Maybe he is on an what Eridu Technologies is doing and won't let anyone in. Or maybe Cerberus or someone got here first and made a deal to ensure no one else followed."

"We cannot say for certain, but it is clear that the 'good' administrator is hiding something."

"I am sure this is interesting and all, but we are wasting time." Daron interrupted, speaking in a low, growl. "Without anyway of knowing for sure, it doesn't matter why that bastard Vliarus barred us access to the Eridu Technologies research center. What matters it deciding what needs to be done."

Ria did not answer, turning her gaze away from the biotic

"If you plan to give up now, just because some turian said you can't and made things more difficult, then you clearly don't have what it takes." The mercenary continued with a scowl.

"C-can't we take the Invisible to the research base?" Kel asked.

"No, you remember the map of the base Liara provided. The only place ships can safely land near the research base is a hanger-bay, and that can be completely sealed from the inside." Laura answered bluntly.

"Oh...s-sorry." the small quarian stuttered, handing his head.

For her part, Ria said nothing, leaning back against a nearby wall; lowering her gaze as she pondered the situation. _We need to get access to the tram, but without clearance we won't be able to get in... and even if we get in._ After some time, Ria looked up, taking a moment to consider her words carefully before she spoke; "I think I have an idea. Its a bit desperate, but I can't think of anything else."

"Ha, everything else we have done so far has fallen into the "bit desperate" category; so why change that now." Laura said with a laugh. "So, whats the plan?"

"Well, we need a way to have get to the tram leading to the research base; but without clearance we won't be able to just walk in." Ria answered, smiling behind her mast as she began to explain her plot. "So to remedy this little road-block; I propose a distraction. We do something big and flashy to draw everyone's attention, and we might have a window to get inside before anyone notices."

"Meanwhile; Laura, Kel, Daron, and myself are going to head to the trams and hopefully slip inside while port security is distracted. I should be able to hack the doors open without too much trouble." Ria said, looking to each them in turn before turning her attention to the salarian lieutenant. "Jalin, in the mean time, I will need you to sneak into Administrator Vliarus's office and override any security measures that might keep us from operating the tram."

"Shouldn't be too difficult, this type of operation was routine during my time in STG"

"Be careful, once we are on that tram, all attention is going to be on you. Get back to the Invisible and get out of here; there's no way we are coming back through this way."

"Understood" the Salarian nodded. "I presume you have a plan of extraction already?"

"Yes, I in fact do." Ria replied with a smile. Activating her omni-tool, she projected a holographic image displaying the blueprints of the research base Liara provided. Highlighting a section of the map, she continued. "While we can't use the hanger-bay as a entry point, we can use it as our extraction point. Once we have the Code-Matrix, we open the hanger from the inside and have the Invisible pick us up there."

"A thought just occurred to me that there might be a problem." Laura said with a from "Once security catches on to our little scheme, what's to stop them from keeping the invisivible from leaving? you know, sealing the hangar, orlocking down the docking clamps?"

"Dammit, I hadn't thought of that._"_ Ria muttered, frowning from behind her helmet.

Ria was surprised when Kel was the first to answer. "W-what about Core? I-mean, his purpose on the Invisible is to run the ships cyberwarfare systems; so couldn't he delay any attempts to lock the ship down until Jalin can reach it."

"That...that could work. We would have to check in with Core first, make sure..."

"Creator-Valah is indeed correct in his conjuncture. We will have little trouble preventing any attempts to detain the ship." Core added over the comms, the sudden 'appearance' of the geth's voice startling Ria.

"Wha... What? how?" she babbled in response, momentarily at a loss for words. Pausing to compose herself (and trying ignoring Laura's stifled laughter at her reaction) the quarian tried once more to voice her question. "Core, how were you aware of what... were you spying on us?"

"We would rather not classify our actions as espionage; it is part of my duties to monitor and record all communications between crew-members during missions." the geth consciousness replied in what Ria swore was a indigent tone.

"Uh, Sorry, for...offending you."

"While this collective took no offense, your attempt to make emends is appreciated," the geth replied before closing communications.

"Well, that settles that... I guess." Ria said, awkwardly trying to get back on track. "Now all we need to do now is come up with a distraction."

"Don't worry, I already have an idea on that." Jalin said, with a confident smirk. "You four get into position. Leave the distraction to me, wouldn't want to ruin the surprise.

Ria nodded in affirmation. "Okay then people, lets do this."

**. . . . .**

Jalin ducked behind a low corne, barely managing to get out of sight right before he was noticed by a passing security guard. He was clearly out of practice, there was no excuse for being sloppy at a time like this. Cursing himself for his carelessness, the salarian waited until the guard's footsteps had echoed into the distance before continuing forward towards the Administrator's office.

Even so, the salarian found it hard to take take it slow and remain cautious. For one, it was simply not in his race's nature to stay still for very long: but also because they had been delayed too much already. It had taken nearly two hours for him to prepare his little surprise, a fact that did not sit right with the salarian

Moving forward with more caution, the salarian made his way ever closer to his destination, having to stop and duck out of sight three more times. Eventually, after what felt like a unbearably long span of time, the Administrator's office came into sight.

Staying low, the salarian inched forward, moving to crouch just to the side of the glass doorway. Pausing to listen for the footsteps of anyone approaching, the lieutenant turned and slowly peaked inside. The only person he could see inside the office was Administrator Vliarus himself, the turian sitting at his desk, his gaze fixed on the computer terminal before him. His hand was raised to one side his head, his mouth moving as he spoke to someone over a personal communicator.

Activating his omni-tool, Jalin pressed his hand against the wall, a receiver in the palm of him armor picking up and amplifying the sounds emanating from inside the office.

_What do you mean you still don't have any updates on the situation?_ The turian said angrily, slamming a fist against his desk. _Yes, I know we haven't been able to contact them in over two days: things have gotten more complicated. The Council sent a team to investigate, with orders to grant them access to the research base... yes of course I turned them away, but you are aware its only a matter of time before they send a Spectre..._

The administrator's word concerning the research base unsettled him, dozens of questions springing to mind. At least_ this answers why he denied us access. I guess its as they say, when a question is answered it often merely leads to more questions,_ he mused briefly, before turning his focus back to listening in on the Administrator Vliarus's conversation.

_Just make sure keep containing the situation, if word gets out... Yes, I understand... Okay...I will be right there in ten minutes. _The administrator finished, handing up and moving to stand.

Jalin only had seconds to dart around the corner before the office doors opened, and the administrator stormed out of his office. Waiting until he was out of sight, the salarian crept back over the door; surprised to see that it was unlocked. Excellent_, he left in too much of a hurry to remember to lock it._ The salarian thought as he saliently slipped inside.

Making his way over to the desk, turning on the administrator's computer. Unsurprisingly finding it was password protected, the salarian activating an hacking program stored on his omni-tool. A handful of minutes ticked by before the program did its work and granted him access to the Administrator's computer terminal and all the files contained within.

As he began preparing to remotely bar security from locking down the trams, as thought occurred to him. On a hunch, he searched through the files on the computer, it taking him only a handful of seconds to locate the folder containing logs of all recent reports the Administrator received. As he began to scan through the files, Jalin activated his comms. "Ria, I am in the Administrator's office and have access to his computer."

**. . . . .**

Moving as quietly as she could manage, Ria crept forward, looking to either side of the intersection between two hallways. Finding it deserted, Ria signaled to the others that the coast was clear and motioned for them to follow.

Silently moving down the path, they soon came upon the intersection leading to the tram-station entrance. Looking around the corner, Ria saw that four security-guards stood outside the entrance; thankfully not noticing her. Withdrawing she motioned for the others to retreat to a alcove a few feet back the way they came and relayed what she had discovered.

"What now?" Laura asked in a low whisper.

"We wait for Jalin to contact us. Once hes in position he will set off the detraction he prepared.

As it summoned by her mentioning of him, the salarian's voice cracked over her comms _"Ria, I am in the Administrator's office and have access to his computer." _

"Speak of the devil" Ria muttered before activating her own communicator (and shutting down the audio-transmitters on her helmet) and responding. "We are close to the tram, but there are four security guards blocking our way. What the status on that distraction?"

"Distraction read, can_ initiate it at anytime. However I shall have to vacate the administrator's office soon after activation... of course, was our plan... only, I found something that is a bit...concerning."_

Ria could tell from the salarians voice that we was indeed worried, which unnerved her. If anything concerned Jalin, it was likely important."What did you find?"

"_I do not know yet. Before Administrator Vliarus left his office a few minutes ago, I overheard speaking to someone; and mentioned am "incident" at the Eridu Technologies research base. I am presently looking through the recent files on the administrator's computer; I will let you know what I find."_

"Understood. As soon as you are able, set off the distraction."

"_Affirmative" _The salarian replied, closing his comms.

Seconds later three muffled booms echoed throughout the station. The noises were soon followed by the shrill cries of warning sirens less then a minute later. The four security-guards blocking the entrance, after a moment of being paralyzed with shock, hurried off in the direction of the noise. Thankfully they failed to notice Ria's team as they passed her group's hiding place.

"Uh, Jalin...I am not complaining with the results, bur what did you do?" Ria asked.

"_Detonation charges places on the windows of two of the observation decks and one of the major marketplaces. Directed blast outwards, cause no harm to anyone inside, but exposing room to outside environment. Thought it would prove an excellent diversion: most of port's security would be need evacuate those area without causing panic and to seal off access."_

"Well, it worked, thats whats important, the security-guards blocking our way are gone."

"_Do not tarry then, won't be able to say here for much longer."_

"Got it" Ria said, turning to the others. "You hear the lieutenant, lets move."

Knowing that they only had a short window of opportunity, the four quickly made there way past the now unblocked doors. Running down the long hallways before them, it wasn't long before they came upon the entrance to the tram-station. Crouching in front of the sealed doors, Ria activated her omni-tool and furiously set to work bypassing the lock.

Thankfully it took but a few moments for her to get the door open, the quarian smiling as she stood and and brushed herself off. "See, told you it wouldn't be hard." she said with a grin.

"Yes, we know, you are good at hacking, we get it." Laura replied with exaggerated annoyance. "Lets just go already

Suddenly a voice shouted out from behind them, footsteps thudding down the hallway."Stop right there, what do you four think you are doing" Spinning around, Ria saw that two security guards had entered behind them and were now brandishing assault rifles as they rushed towards them.

Before she could react, the two men were violently torn from their feet and thrown against a wall, impacting with dull thuds before tumbling to the ground unmoving.

Searching for the source of the biotic assault, Ria was not surprised it had been Daron, the mercenary lowering his outstretched hand, the azure glow of his biotic aura fading away as she watched.

"They were in our way." the biotic explain coolly at her questioning gaze.

"D-did you...did you j-just kill them?" Kel stuttered, looking at the human biotic with wide eyes.

"Hardly, did throw them hard enough. I could have of course, but I figured that would likely upset you three, so I only disabled them. At worst they have a concussion and a few fractured bones."

"Warn me next time, if you decide to do something like that." Ria replied.

"I will consider it. In the meantime, rather then arguing like children, we should focus on our objective." the biotic said bluntly before setting off in the direction of the tram, without not bothering to see if they were following him.

_That arrogant bosh'tet_, Ria fumed at the mercenary's behavior; thankful that her mask hid her scowl.

Hurrying through the doors after the mercenary, Ria found herself in a wide, darkened tram-station. Scanning to room for any sign of movement (besides the egotistical _Det kazuat _striding toward the tram like he owned the place). Finding none, Ria motioned for Laura and Kel to follow as she made her way over to the tram.

Before she could check to see if the doors were locked, Daron pried them open with his biotics and stepped inside. Fingers clenching in annoyance at the biotic's disregard for the rest of the team, Ria entered the now open tram.

It was at that moment that Jalin spoke once more over the comes, speaking quickly in a urgent tone. _"Ria, have you reached at the tram-station?"_

"We are here. Whats going on?"

_Someone is attempting to override my control of the tram-station's systems! It appears we have been discovered. I am holding them off for now, but it is probable security will arrive in a matter of minutes"_

"Ancestors! It must have been those two security-guards who confronted us moments ago. We disabled them, but they must have reported us in before that." Ria cursed "We are getting on the tram right now, just make sure we make it out of the station; then get the hell out of there."

"_Understood" _the salarian replied. _"Also, I have managed to discovered what Administrator Vliarus was attempting to hide"_

"What did you discover" Ria asked as she hurried over to tram's control console. Behind her, Laura, Kel, and Daron took their seats; and, as Ria noticed, all seemed to be listening intently to what Jalin was saying over the comms.

"_Two days ago the port lost contact with the research base. It appears that a security team was sent to investigate, but never returned. Beyond that, I have yet to discover any other details; but I think we can assume the worst."_

The tram lurched forward, moving at a steady pace as it slid away from the station. Ria found it hard to speak as she processed what Jalin had told her. She wearily leaned over the console, her outstretched arms pushing against it to support her weight. At last, after several heartbeats, she found the courage to speak "You think its Cerberus." It was not a question.

"_Unsure, but it seems like it is the most likely explanation. How should we proceed?"_

"Keelah, this complicates things. If your correct, then Cerberus has had time to fortify their position. Its likely we could be walking into a trap the minute we get off this tram." Ria responded, slamming a fist onto the console. "Dammit, its too late to back down now... not that it would have been an option, even if we had a chance."

"Indeed... I now regret not being able to provide anymore help."

"You couldn't have known. We have left the station now, so just get back the Invisible ASAP."

"_Affirmative, and, I wish you luck."_

_Ya, good luck... we are going to need it. _Ria thought to herself as the tram slid off towards an uncertain future.


	18. Chapter 18: Echo 13 Research Facility

_4/25/2209_

_"Arrival at Echo 13 research facility, ten minutes._"The tram VI's synthesized voice announced in an emotionless tone.

Opening her eyes, Ria took a deep breath, trying to calm herself and subdue her growing apprehension. She and the rest of her team had sat in silence for most of the hour long journey from Port Hanshan to the Eridu Technologies research facility. After a quick exchange of glaces between herself and the others, the assembled squad rose from their seats and began last minute equipment checks.

Once she had ensured her own equipment was in order, the quarian turned to her team. "Everyone, get ready. We don't have any idea what could be waiting for us, so be prepared for anything. Stay on your toes and watch for ambushes."

"Understood, whats the game plan for if we encounter hostiles?" Laura asked.

"You and I will go take the lead. Daron, you will be in the middle. We will cover so you are free to hit them with your biotics." Ria said, to which the mercenary merely grunted in response. "Kel, you are taking the rear, its your job to make sure nobody tries to flank us."

Kel nodded nervously as he fumbled with the straps of his own armor. Like the armor she herself wore, Kel's armor was dull gray in color and was designed to be worn over his blue environment-suit.

Minutes ticked by at an agonizingly slow pace as the tram drew ever closer to its destination. Soon enough the tram began to decelerate, slowly coming to a halt at the station with a faint hiss.

Ria slung her father's vindicator from her back, flipping the safety off in a smooth motion. With a moments hesitation, Ria cautiously exited the tram. The quarian raised her weapon into a firing position as she swept her gaze over the room. She was incredibly conscious of her own racing heart as she continued through the lifeless room before her. It was entirely stark white, from the panel floor and ceiling, to the mirror smooth walls. The only sound was the ever present muffled noise of the wind roaring outside.

Laura was the next to exit, her avenger held at the ready as she quickly and effeciently took her place to Ria's left. Behind her Daron strode quickly and confidently out of the tram. Unlike the others, the mercenary had yet to draw any weapons; the faint shimmer of dark energy around him appearing more threatening then any weapon could be.

Kel was the last to exit the tram, the young quarian seemed almost reluctant as he jumped a little from the tram doors closing automatically behind him. Recovering quickly, he stopped not far from the group and activated his omni-tool. Tapping a few keys, there soon materialized a brilliant orange armor overlay that glowed in unison with his orange omni-tool.

"When did you learn to do that?" Ria asked, gazing at Kel with a quizzical look.

"I did some research on it during some free time i had... when I wasn't working of course, to try and learn some tech skills that might be useful." Kel explained, lowering his gaze away from her's. "I learned some ways I could upgrade my omni-tool's fabricators, to be able to form an armor overlay, thought it would mean I wouldn't get hurt if I did something... stupid"

"That was smart Kel. With that extra durability you should be able to use your biotics more freely, as the risk of exposing yourself in combat would be greatly diminished." Ria assured him, before turning her attention back to the task at hand. "Okay people, lets move out."

Taking the lead, Ria cautiously let them forward towards the chamber's only visible exit. Waiting until everyone had taken positions to either side of the door, Ria thrust a hand onto the control-panel, the double doors sliding open with a whoosh of air.

Peeking through the now open passageway, Ria saw that a wide hallway ran ahead of them, unbroken except by another pair of large double doors on the far end. Like the tram station, the hallway was made of the same sterile cold white material, and through her suit's olfactory filters Ria could easily make out the tell-tale stench of antispetics; a smell that had been absent back on the tram station. The smell immediately reminded her of a hospital. The emptiness and utter silence before her only served to reinforce the feeling of utter-lifelessness of the facility.

_I don't like it here. It's too... empty. Too sterile. Nothing here feels warm, or alive. This place feels about as lifeless and unwelcoming as the blizzard outside. _ Ria thought with a shiver, as she hesitantly continued forward.

The four cautiously approached the set of doors at the far end, once more moving into cover on either side before Ria opened it and checked for hostiles. Inside was a large chamber that appeared to serve as a waiting room, furnished with several white and gray chairs, couches, and two small metal-gray tables. In the corner was a desk at which employees, visitors, and other arrivals would have likely checked in sat eerily deserted. Besides the ominous lack of occupants, the most foreboding detail was that the two metal tables had been overturned to use as cover, bullet holes scaring their otherwise smooth surface.

At the far end was an elevator, which Ria knew from the maps of the facility Liara provided led to the various levels that made up the bulk of the facility. After they had moved farther into the room, Ria felt her adrenaline spike when she noticed the display above the elevator door indicating it was ascending towards them. "Quick everyone, get out of sight. Wait until we can identify who it is before doing anything.

The four quickly scrambled for cover, Ria ducked behind a chair, while Kel and Laura took positions behind one of the couches and Daron dropped back behind an overturned table.

They managed to get out of sight without a moment to spare, the elevator doors sliding open less then a second later. From it strode six men garbed in heavy, white and gold armor; who Ria instantly recognized as Cerberus troopers. _So Jalin's guess was correct after all. Damn those Cerberus bastards, they got here long before us. Can't we ever be a step ahead of them , just once?"_

"_Spread out"_ one of them ordered in a muffled and distorted voice. _"Find whoever came on the tram"_

Turning off her suit's audio transmitters, Ria spoke over her team's comms, counting on her suit to muffle her voice. "We move on my mark." Waiting until the six troopers had begun to spread out, Ria spoke in a voice so calm it surprised even herself. "Now."

Ducking out from behind her hiding place, she took aim and fired; putting two bursts of her assault rifle between the lead trooper's eyes. The man tumbled to the ground, a ruined mass where his head had once been. Laura unleashed a hail of rounds from her avenger at the same time, the bullets tearing into the torso of another before any of them had time to react.

Caught off guard and their leader dead, the remaining troopers were disorganized and confused as they desperately tried to retaliate. One of the soldiers was quicker than the others, taking aim at Ria before she could duck back out of sight. Just before the trooper squeezed the trigger he was slapped by a field of dark energy that threw him into the wall with bone shattering force.

The appearance of the human biotic pulled the remaining soldiers' attention away from Ria, the two troopers instead taking aim and opening fire upon the mercenary. Their attacks, of course, proved futile; all the incoming rounds bouncing harmlessly off the biotic barrier Daron raised to defend himself.

Taking advantage of the Cerberus soldeirs ignoring her, Ria opened fire, shattering the shields of the man nearest her; allowing Laura to finish him off with a hail of rounds. Before Ria could fire again, she saw that Kel had stood , his omni-tool flaring as he gestured at one of the two remaining enemies. The shields of one of the soldiers flashed brightly then vanished moments later, his shield generator sparking. Raising his shotgun, the quarian fired off two shots, finishing off the trooper whose shields he had just overloaded.

The last soldier turned to run, only managing to make it two steps before Daron reached out for him, the mercenaries biotics lifting the man from his feet to hover half a foot off the ground. As one Ria and Laura opened fire on the helpless soldier, mass accelerator rounding tearing into the man's back.

As the Cerberus soldier's corpse fell to the ground, it struck Ria that the feeling of guilt and disgust she had experienced every-time she had killed seemed more muted then before; replaced by grim satisfaction. The first time she had killed someone, mere weeks before, she had felt physically sick; despite knowing that she had no other choice. But by now... by now she killed at least a few dozen men and women, ending their lives without so much as a second thought. The realization that killing had begun to no longer effect her frightened and concerned the quarian. _How long will it be before i become an unfeeling monster who finds joy in taking lives?_

"Ria! What are you doing just standing there? Come on!" Laura shouted, snapping Ria from her introspection. Looking around, she saw that the others had moved up to the elevator; Laura gazing back at her with a concerned look

"Huh? Sorry, I was just...thinking about something." Ria replied as she hurried over to them, trying to push aside her concern. She had a mission to focus on after all, she would have to worry about her growing apathy towards killing later.

Drawing closer, Ria saw that Kel was already examining the elevator's control panel. "What did you find?" she asked the smaller quarian.

"Well, I uh... It appears that a ID card is needed to open the elevator on this end. I am trying to-to override this and get it open manually." the blue clad quarian stuttered in reply, all the while his gaze locked on the panel as he worked.

"Here, let me try. I am sure I can..." Ria started to say, falling silent as a light on the control panel flashed green and the elevator door slid open.

"Ouch Ria, looks like Kel just stole your position as "official locked door opener"." Laura chuckled, clapping a hand on Ria's shoulder as he walked.

This jest appeared to startle Kel immensely, the small quarian frantically attempting to form what Ria suspected was meant to be an apology "Wha? I-I... I was just...I didn't mean..."

"Relax, Laura was just a joking. You didn't do anything wrong." Ria said reassuringly

"Oh, a-a joke. Sorry... I was just... nevermind, sorry." Kel said in one last attempt at an apology before turning his gaze away from her and Laura, evidently to hide his embarrassment.

"Well..." Ria said, trying to change the subject to avoid embarrassing Kel further "I suppose we better get moving then, before more Cerberus bastards show up." Drawing nods from Laura and Daron, Ria stepped toward the now open elevator.

"Wait, there's something I just considered." Ria said, coming to a sudden stop before she had taken more then a step forward. "This elevator only goes from here to a single other floor" Ria said."If i were leader of the Cerberus soldiers assigned to this mission, i would have a couple men posted at the other end of the elevator, with orders to shoot anything that came through unless the advance team called ahead first. If i'm right, then we need to figure out a plan for keeping our blood _**inside**_ our bodies. "

"Ya, not being turned into Swiss cheese the moment the elevator opens would be a good idea"

It only took Ria a few seconds of thought before she spoke again. "Daron, I need you to create a biotic shield strong enough to protect us from all incoming fire for a few seconds. I will toss in a flashbang when the doors open. The second it goes off, I need you to drop the shield and then we hit whoever is on the other end as hard and fast as we can before they have a chance to recover."

The mercenary grunted his acknowledgment of her words before shoving past her and into the elevator.

"Well, I guess that means we are going with your plan...I think." Laura shrugged.

"Ya, I guess so" Ria said, shaking her head as she stepped into the elevator after the biotic, Laura and Kel fallowing suit soon after.

As the elevator slowly descended, Ria unhooked a flashbang grenade from her belt, tossing and catching it absently as she waited. "Focus... Focus. I need to time this just right..." Before she knew it the elevator slowed to a halt, the fumbling and nearly dropping the grenade in her surprise. Thankfully she managed to hang on to it, pulling her arm back to throw it just as a soft ding sounded and the elevator doors hissed open.

Time seemed to slow to a crawl as the doors slid open, and several things happened all at once. The grenade flew from her open hand as she thrust her arm towards the ever opening gap between the elevator doors. Gunshots barked out in a torrent of noise, mass accelerator rounds streaking through the air toward them

The instant the grenade cleared the elevator's doors, a shimmering azure barrier sprung up around them. The protective biotic field fully enveloping her squad without a moment to spare; a swarm of rounds slammed into the shield, Daron's barrier flaring brightly as the incoming projectiles were stopped in their tracks.

Ria tore her gaze away, squeezing her eyes shut and turning away as the flashbang landed with a _tink _of metal on metal. There was a loud cracking bang that reverberated through the enclosed space. The quarian waited a fraction of a second before snapping her eyes open and surveyed the scene before her. As evident from the gunfire, her prediction that Cerberus had placed guards outside the elevator had indeed been correct, not to mention that she could now see five visibly dazed troopers stumbling around before her.

Raising her father's Vindicator, Ria pumped three quick bursts into the foremost man's chest, blood splattering the floor behind him as he fell. Two longer burst cried out from beside her as Laura opened fire an instant later, both bursts striking her targets with fatal precision, making the two men jerk and stumble backwards as they died.

Turning her attention to the remaining enemies, Ria saw that both men appeared to have begun to recover from the flashbang grenade's effect; shakily bringing their rifles to bare on her team. Before either had a chance retaliate, both troopers were torn from their feet and flung back down the hallway, landing in crumpled heaps. Without pause Daron strode out from the elevator, brushing past Ria and toward the soldiers he had tossed like a child's plaything. The quarian watched as the mercenary drew his Paladin heavy pistol and with brutal efficiency put one round into each of the disabled soldiers, ensuring with utter certainty that they would never rise again.

With all of the Cerberus soldiers dealt with, Ria now was able to get a clear look at her surroundings. They were in another hallway, appearing much like the one that had lead from the tram station. Unlike before, however, this hallway was marked by several doors to either side. "Before we move ahead, I want to check these rooms, see if we can find anything useful or that can tell us where the Code-Matrix is." Ria ordered.

Making her way over to the closest door and finding it locked, the quarian activated her omni-tool and began setting about getting it open. _Now that I think about it, something about this doesn't add up_, Ria mused as she worked, _Why is Cerberus here? They already have the Code-Matrix from Horizon, so why did they come here?_

Less than a minute after she had started she had the door unlocked, and she cautiously stepped inside. She found herself in a small research lab, furnished by several work tables covered with various pieces of equipment sitting in the center of the room and a handful of desks with computer terminals off to one side. Besides these furnishings, the room was unmarked except by a small hatch built into the floor in the far corner of the room, likely serving as a entrance to a maintenance tunnel. Moving towards the desks, the quarian gave orders to the rest of her team. "Laura, watch the door. Kel, Daron, I need you to search those worktables for anything useful to us."

Just as she began to look over the various items laying on the desk, Ria heard a clanging noise coming from behind her, followed by a soft grinding sound of metal sliding over metal. Drawing her pistol in one quick motion she spun around to face the direction the noise had emanated from, brandishing her weapon before her.

"Wait, please, I'm unarmed! Don't shoot!" A frighted voice shouted in reply.

Ria saw that the voice belonged to a human man, who appeared to have been hiding in the now open maintenance tunnel hatch before revealing himself; only the upper half of his body visible over the lip of the opening. The man appeared to be in his mid-to-late thirties, his likely once pristine lab coat was now dirty and ragged and he had both his hands above his head with palms out in a gesture of surrender.

Not wanting to take any chances, Ria kept her weapon up, noting from a quick glance at the others that they too had their weapons drawn and trained on the man. Turning back to him, the quarian asked, "Who are you? Are you with..."

"No, I am not with those, whoever those people are! I just an employee at this facility, I am not a threat!" The man rattled off quickly, evidently still terrified. "Please, c-can you let me get the rest of the way out of this god-dammed tunnel? I promise to do whatever you want."

Ria nodded, raising a hand in gesture for the others to stand down. The man took her gesture as permission to extricate himself from the tunnel entrance. He huffed in impatience as he did it, but he made sure to keep his hands up and visible for her and her team.

"You can lower your hands, but if you try anything I **will** shoot" Ria said in a warning tone. "Now, how did you know we were here?"

The man nodded slowly as he lowered his hands "I heard gunfire, I thought that maybe someone had come to help. I got closer and heard you four talking, and learned you weren't with them, so I thought that you could help me. You are here to help...aren't you?"

Ria nodded, lowering her weapon. "That's one reason we are here. Now, tell me everything you know. Who are you exactly? What do you know about what's happened here?"

"I...my name is Doctor Stoyer, I work in data analysis. I have only been employed here for about three months. I still don't know what exactly happened in the attack...it was..." The man trailed off, holding his head and shaking it. His voice wavered as he spoke again. "God, I don't know how long ago it was exactly. Two, maybe three days. Time doesn't seem to flow the same when you're in here, so i can't say for sure. I was working here in this lab when I heard an explosion, followed by gunfire coming from elsewhere in the facility. I'm sorry, I don't know anything else about what happened."

"How did you manage to hide during the attack?" Laura asked, her suspicion plain on her face as she took a step forward and eyed the man warily.

"I locked the doors to the lab, shut down all the equipment and turned off the lights; make it appear like the lab was empty before hiding in the maintenance shaft." the scientist answered. "I've been hiding in the maintenance tunnels that run throughout the base ever since.

"What happened to the other scientists?"

"I...yes. I overheard some of the men who attacked the facility talking. They mentioned that they had rounded up all the project leads and top scientists here to work on... something. The rest...those that they didn't kill outright, are being held hostage somewhere; along with the families."

"Families?"

"Yes, s-several of the workers have families that live on the facility, a few spouses and about a dozen children."

Ria nodded, frowning from behind her mask. _This complicates things. I wouldn't put it past Cerberus to use children as hostages. We are going to need to move fast, before Cerberus has that chance. _"Do you know if it has anything to do with the prothean Code-Matrix? Finding it and making sure the people who attacked this facility don't get their hands on it is one of the reasons we are here."

"I... I can't tell you." Stoyer replied slowly, unlike before appearing to be choosing his words carefully.

"Why not?" Ria said forcefully, stepping forward and her hand moving an inch closer in what the young quarian hoped appeared as threatening as she had intended it to.

"I am under an non-disclosure agreement that forbids the discussion of Eridu Technologies research. I can't tell you about anything that is deemed classified information. If I did I could lose my job...or worse."

Without warning the scientist yelped in surprise as he was engulfed in a biotic field and was lifted off the ground. Before Ria could react Daron strode forward, a hand seizing the front of the mans grimy labcoat.

"Daron! What the hell are you doing?" Ria demanded with a shout.

The Mercenary ignored her as he brought his face less then a foot away from the scientist's and spoke in a utterly cold and harsh tone. "Do you think some worthless contract is worth risking your life over? Tell me, is it worth finding out what will happen if Cerberus manages to use your employer's precious Code-Matrix?"

"C-Cerberus? T-Their the ones who...oh god. I thought they were gone. I..."

"Yes, and if you don't tell us everything you know in the next five seconds, I will make sure to throw you into the first group of them we run into...or perhaps just use you as a human shield." Daron said, grinning wickedly. "Of course, I could just crush you right now for your cowardice; but whats the fun in that."

"I..." the human scientist started.

"Four." Daron counted, cutting him off

"Y-your right, I will tell y..." Stoyer began to reply, only to be cut off as Daron counted down again,

"Three."

"The Code-Matrix was being held in the B-labs!" Stoyer shouted, fear palpable in his voice. "It was being used in a project that was also involved with a prothean data-drive we recovered a few years ago!"

"Smart decision," the mercenary replied, releasing his biotic field holding the scientist, who fell to his knees, shaking violently.

Shaking off her own surprise, Ria strode forward towards the mercenary "What the hell did you do that for!?"

"Getting the information we need as quickly as possible, which you were failing to do." The Mercenary replied, stepping forward until he was less then a foot away so he towered over her, his gaze downward so that his eyes met her's.

Ria's hands involuntarily clenched into fists, the quarian having to use ever ounce of self control she possessed not to punch the mercenary. "We don't attack the people we are trying to save."

"Why should it matter, we got the information we need."

Her anger boiling over Ria shouted in reply. "It does matter! We don't -" Ria was cut off by Laura who stepped between her and Daron to shove them apart.

"Enough, both of you!" the human soldier shouted. "I can't believe I'm the one who has to say this, but we have more important things to worry about."

Mumbling under her breath, Ria shoved past Laura as she moved over to where Doctor Stoyer stood, the scientist having been helped to his feet by Kel while herself and Daron had argued. It took her several moments to find enough composure to speak calmly. "I apologize for Daron's treatment of you, but we don't have much time. I need you to tell me everything you know about the Code-Matrix, and about what the team working with it was doing."

"N-no... he was right. After all that has happened I owe you all the help you can get; its the only way I or any of the other researchers will have any chance of getting out of this alive." he explained with a shake of his head before, replying. "I wasn't on the team working with the Code-Matrix, so I can only tell you what I learned from talking to those on the project. The project was aimed at trying to find a way to use the Code-Matrix we possessed more efficiently."

"Why was this needed? Was it because it is badly damaged?"

"No, it's because the Code-Matrix was designed to be used by someone with prothean physiology, and that required an encryption key to function. Without either of these, the use of this Code-Matrix was a long and arduous process, requiring it to be forcefully activated." the scientist answered. "We happened upon a prothean data-drive containing an encryption key as few years ago. While it wasn't the same key the Code-Matrix used, the plan was to modify it so it could be used. Last I heard, the team was nearing a breakthrough."

_That's why Cerberus didn't just leave after taking over the facility. _Ria realized with a start. _They already have the Code-Matrix from Horizon. But they do need the encryption key, so they are keeping the researchers alive so they can finish it for them. _"Whats the fastest way to B-labs?" Ria demanded, her words coming out more forceful then she intended.

"You could take the main hallway, but they probably have that blocked off. If i were you, i would take the maintenance shaft instead, there is an exit near the lab from there."

"Thank you" Ria replied, nodding and smiling in thanks at the scientist. "Once we go ahead, find some place to hide."

"Understood, no arguments there."

Making her way over to the open hatch leading down in the maintenance tunnel, the forest-green garbed quarian gazed down into it before turning to address her team. "Alright everyone, lets move. I will go in first, the rest of you follow my lead." With that Ria dropped down dropped down into the darkened tunnel.

_**. . . . .**_

For several minutes Ria and her team half stooped, half scrambled their way through the confined space of the maintenance tunnels. Due to needing to stay as silent as possible, they moved at a sluggish pace, but eventually they made their way to the tunnel under the lab Doctor Stoyer had told them about.

Holding up a hand in gesture for the others to come to a stop, Ria reach towards one of the pouches on her belt and withdrew a small snake-camera. Slowly and carefully, she activated her omni-tool and poked the camera through a small hole in the floor above. On the holographic display of her omni-tool, Ria could see that the room was occupied by nine Cerberus soldiers spread throughout the room. Moving the camera around, Ria spotted about a dozen men and woman in labcoats sitting off to the side, their hands bound behind them.

A plan already taking shape, Ria withdrawing the camera and ensured her suit's audio transmitters were off before speaking over her communicator. After relating what she had observed, Ria quickly explained her plan. "We are outnumbered almost two to one, and they are expecting us, but I think I have a way we can catch them off guard. Daron, on my signal I need you to tear the hatch above us and levitate yourself up there as quickly as possible. We need you to keep them busy for just a few seconds for the rest of us to get up there."

The biotic nodded in acceptance, moving into position directly under the hatch leading to the room above. After glancing around to ensure everyone else was ready, Ria began to slowly count down.

The moment her countdown reached zero, the mercenary burst into movement. A brilliantly bright aura of dark energy surged around the powerful biotic as he thrusted a hand upward to unleash a concussive wave of force.. With a rending crash, the hatch above was torn from its hinges with such force that it smashed into the roof ten feet above. Less then a instant later, the mercenaries' biotics surged once more as he himself shot upward through the now opened entry point above him, his sudden appearance met by audible exclamations of shock and panic from the room's occupants.

Hurrying forward, Ria moved to follow after the mercenary, scrambling up the ladder with all the speed she could muster. Pushing herself up into the room, the quarian found that of the nine men guarding the prisoners, one had already been dealt with, his unmoving form slumped against a wall with his helmeted head twisted at an unnatural angle.

Even as she watched, Daron thrust open palms at two of the men, knocking them from their feet with a quick biotic push, before he was forced to retreat behind a biotic barrier as two of the soldiers opened fire while the three still standing moved to take cover.

_Oh no you don't_ Ria thought as she activated her omni-tool, overloading the closest man's shields. Without missing a beat she took aim with her rifle and opened fire; the impact twisting the man around as he fell in a spray of scarlet.

Meanwhile the two Cerberus soldiers Daron had knocked from their feet had begun to push themselves upright, scrambling for their fallen weapons. Before either had the chance to rejoin the fight a thundering boom crackled across the room. One of the men was thrown back from a concussive shot hitting him in the chest to lay sprawled and unmoving on the floor, a huge gouge on his chest piece from the sheer force of the impact. The second man screamed in pain seconds later as a biotic field formed around and began tearing and rending his body apart on a molecular level.

As the man fell to the ground, still thrashing in pain, Ria spared a quick glance behind her, seeing that both Laura and Kel had managed to follow up after her even quicker then she had expected, and were now moving to take cover nearby.

One of the men who had been focusing on Daron took notice of her presence and opened fire at her. Knowing her shields would not last long, Ria threw herself behind one of the lab stations, managing to get out of the soldier's line of fire a moment too late, her shields shattering and a single bullet impacting against her left shoulder

Hissing in pain, Ria prodded the small hole in her armor only to find her fingers come away red. Ignoring the pain she ducked low out of cover, firing a burst from her rifle that tore through the man's left ankle. Howling in pain, the Cerberus operative dropped to one knee, clutching at his torn flesh above his left foot. Aiming upward, Ria fired two more burst, putting several rounds into the man's head.

Turning her attention to the remaining enemies, Ria watched as Daron lashed out against the one soldier who was still focusing on him, tossing him aside with a wave of his hand. Turning his attention away while Laura finished off the Cerberus trooper with a short cough of gunfire, Daron reached out toward one of the worktables that served as cover for one of the three remaining Cerberus agents. The table glowed with azure light as he flipped it over on top the woman crouching behind it, crushing her under it with the wet crushing noise of shattering bones.

Switching to her pistol, Ria sprinted forward and threw herself into a roll as rounds buzzed through the air around her. Coming out of her roll past the nearest soldiers cover, Ria lunged at him as he attempted to bring his gun to bear. Batting the gun aside with her empty hand Ria quickly fired her pistol point blank at the man, her heavy pistol shattering his shields. Twisting to the side to avoid a kick aimed at her knee, Ria clenched her empty hand shut as a shimmering gold-orange omni-blade formed around her fist. Ducking under a swipe of the man's rifle aimed at her head, the quarian punched her hand forward, the flash-fabricated omni-blade burying itself deep into the mans chest.

Yanking the blade free, Ria watched as the man slumped lifelessly to the ground. Convinced that he was dead, Ria turned her attention away from her vanquished foe, finding that the last Cerberus operative had been likewise dealt with.

"Laura, Daron, watch the exits! I don't want anyone sneaking up on us. Kel, help me untie the hostages." Ria said, making her way over to where the dozen or so men and woman were tied.

It took a few minutes for the two quarians to remove the restraints on all of the scientists. Once they had finished, one of the scientists, a woman with graying hair, stepped forward. "I am Doctor Julia Lenand, head of prothean technology research. On behalf of all of us, I thank you for rescuing us, I had feared help would never arrive. How did you know where we were?"

"We ran into another employee, Doctor Stoyer. He had managed to avoid capture by hiding in the maintenance tunnels."

"He's still alive? We had assumed he was among those who had been killed during the attack." Doctor Lenand replied.

"Why did they have you tied up? Stoyer told us that Cerberus was forcing you to continue your project to fabricate a encryption key for the Code-Matrix."

"We were" the woman said with a nod. "But about half an hour ago the leader of the men who held us prisoner came in with a dozen soldiers and told us to stop working. He rounded us all up and had his men bind us. I still don't know why."

"I heard him say something about "trouble incoming"" one of the other scientists offered, speaking up. "Probably knew you four were coming soon after you arrived."

"Ah, yes, thank you Jerald." the project lead said with a nod, before continuing. "After that, the leader had his men gather up prothean data-drive we were working on and all of our research data and notes. After that, they just left, leaving only a dozen behind to guard us. That was only about five or ten minute before you came in."

"Dammit, they knew we would try to rescue you; so they left a handful of their men here to keep up appearances. Then they escaped with what they could while we were preoccupied!" Ria said, speaking more to herself then to anyone else. Turning back to Doctor Lenand, Ria spoke quickly in a demanding tone. "What about the Code-Matrix? Did they take it too?"

"No, but they destroyed it" the lead scientist said with a slow shake of her head, gesturing a dozen metal and crystalline fragments scattered on one of the tables. "Before they left, the leader of the said they didn't need it anymore. So he just pulled out his gun and shot it."

"_Usl'sa yze tabb vanar d__et kazuat" _Ria swore angrily, her heart sinking at the man's words. _Dammit,Ancestors dammit it all. This can't have all been for nothing...no, I refuse to accept that, we still have a chance. _Ria spun to face her team, shouting off orders with fierceness that surprised even herself. "Laura, I need you to get these people to safety. Daron, Kel, your with me. If we hurry, we might be able to catch them before..."

Her words were cut short when the room shook violently. A series of echoing booms from high grade explosives rocked the facility.

**Author's Note: **We are quickly approaching the half way point of the story. If all does as planned the story should come to a close by the next of next summer, after which I will hopefully begin working on the sequel :D

Thanks goes to Bahoogasmif for editing and offering advice on my story each week.


	19. Chapter 19: A Difficult Choice

_4/25/2209_

The room continued to shake for several moments as the echoing booms of the explosions reverberated around them. When the complex fell still at last, Ria pushed herself upright. "What the hell was that?"

"Sounded like explosives, military grade ones at that" Laura answered. "But what I don't get is why they were used, from the sound of it there wasn't nearly enough to bring down the whole facilit-"

Whatever the alliance soldier had been going to way was drowned out as a warning siren blared out.

"That's the facility's fire alarm... this is bad, I need to see what part of the facility it is." Doctor Lenand explained, her face going stark white as she rushed over to one of the computer terminals.

_Dammit, Cerberus must have used incendiary bombs._"Whats the problem?" Ria asked, jogging over to the scientist and gazing at the computer's display as it started up.

"When the facility was built, a large pocket of natural gas was found under this area of the planet. Taking advantage of this discovery, it was decided to use this as the primary power source for the facility. The gas is pumped up from various points under us and to the generator at the center of the complex...and if there is a large fire..."

"Basically very bad things will happen." Ria said with a scowl.

The scientist did not reply for several seconds, her gaze locked on the display. After a handful of heartbeats, she stepped back, her eyes widening. "Its as I feared, they disabled the facility's automatic fire-extinguishers. With the possibility of gases acting as fuel, the while facility could be consumed within minutes!"

"Dammit!" Laura cursed, as she put a hand on the quarian's shoulder, turning her towards her. "Ria, we are going to have to hurry. We don't have time to chase after Cerberus if we are going to have a chance of saving the remaining hostages in-"

Daron cut the soldier off, speaking in a low, growling tone. "Forget the hostages, we need to focus on Cerberus. All that matters is completing our objective, no matter the cost."

Taking in what both had said, Ria saw that she now had a choice before her, a choice that could very well spell death for many lives if she choose poorly. She could condemn the trapped researchers to their fate so that her team could have a chance of stopping Cerberus from gaining control of data that would get them one step closer to finding the dark forge ... or she could rescue them, and lose all hope of catching the fleeing Cerberus agents.

_How do I know whats the right choice... how can I justify saving a few dozen lives when doing so could risk putting far more at risk? _She knew that she should go after Cerberus, it was the most logical choice. She knew that stopping Cerberus was worth more then then a few dozen lives, for if they succeeded they could kill thousands, maybe even millions. It was the choice logic dictated she should take, to do otherwise would be foolish.

But then she remembered what her father had told her when she had been but a child, so long ago and far away that it felt like it had been in another lifetime. "_You have to know when to be merciful, when to __spare lives, and to never ever let innocent lives be lost if you can help it." _She knew then that, despite the great risk, she couldn't do it. She couldn't condemn innocent men, women, and _**children**_ to be burned alive; not when she could stop it.

Looking up, Ria spoke clearly and purposefully, putting the weight of all her conviction behind her words as she spoke. "I am not going to let those people die. We are going to save them, no matter the cost!"

Not waiting for an answer, Ria activated her comms. "Invisible, come in, this is an emergency!"

It took less then a handful of seconds for the expected reply to come in the form of Core's synthesized voice. "We read you, Creator-Shepard. What is the situation?"

"Cerberus has placed bombs throughout the facility, which has set off several fires. We are going to need an evac for several dozen civilian hostages."

"Understood, ETA twenty minutes."

Closing her own communicator, Ria turned to Doctor Lenand. "Where are the remaining hostages being held?"

"In the living quarters located in the eastern side of the facility." the lead scientist replied, speaking quickly as panic began to fill her voice.

Nodding in thanks, Ria turned her attention back to her team to see that Daron was marching towards her, coming to a stop to stand but a few feet away from her. "Are you crazy? Or just stupid?" the mercenary growled. "We have a chance to stop Cerberus now, and you want to throw it away so you can save a few insignificant lives."

"I am not about to let children die, and like hell am I going to let you stop me!" Ria shouted, her hands curling into fists.

Ria noticed that the mercenary seems to flinch for just a moment at her mention of children, but was quickly replaced once more by an cold glare."If you let Cerberus get away, then what?" the biotic spat, taking a menacing step forward. "How many more will die because you can't make the hard choices?

"I am not going to let fear of what _could_ happen stop me from doing the right thing." Ria resorted, eyes narrowing as she took a forceful step closer to the man to match his own.

"You don't understand what those... monsters are truly capable of! You haven't seen what they can do just yet. I am not going to let them get away, not when we can stop them here and now! Try and stop me if you dare-"

The mercenary's words were cut short as Ria's fist smashed into his face, the punch catching the man off guard and causing him to stagger back a step. On some level the quarian knew that this had been an incredibly stupid thing to do, that the mercenary could destroy her with his biotics as easily as she could swat a fly. But right now, she couldn't care less, not when she didn't have the time to waste arguing with this arrogant bosh'tet.

"Enough! At this point I don't give a damn about what you think of my decision. When you agreed to help us, you agreed to follow my lead! If you don't like it, then you can leave! But right now I don't have the time to deal with this!" Ria shouted.

For his part, Daron appeared mildly shocked by the quarian's actions. This shock and disbelief quickly fades, replaced by a cold glare that it sent shivers down her spine. "Fine." the mercenary spat. "But when this backfires, don't say that I didn't warn you"

Ria nodded slowly, turning her attention to the others. "Laura, Kel, I need you two to escort these scientists to the hanger bay." Ria ordered, before activating her comms once more. "Doctor Stoyer, do you hear me?"

"Y-yes, I hear you. What's going on, I hear explosions and-"

"Cerberus set bombs throughout the facility." Ria explained, cutting him off. "We have rescued the people held at B-Labs and am sending part of my team to escort them to the hanger bay. I need you to meet them there."

"Okay, I will head there now." the scientist replied, failing to completely hide the terror evident in his voice.

Closing her comms, Ria turned to face the mercenary once more. "Daron, I sure as hell don't trust you right now, but I need you to come with me to rescue the remaining hostages. Your biotics are the only chance I have of making it through the fire between here and the living quarters."

The man slowly nodded, his eyes locked on her as he continued to glare coldly.

"Ria, are you sure thats a good idea?" Laura asked, choosing then to speak up. "Maybe I should go with-"

"Laura, don't you argue with me now. I need someone I can trust making sure these men and woman get out of here. Now go!"

"Aye, aye" the alliance soldier replied before jogging over the the dozen odd scientists to begin shouting out instructions; with Kel hesitating for a fraction of a second before following after her.

Without wasting any more time, Ria turned away and sprinted off in the direction of the facility's living quarters without delay; only slowing to glance behind her to ensure that the human biotic was following behind her. Seeing that he was, Ria redoubled her pace, moving with all the speed she possessed.

_**. . . . .**_

Thanks to the lack of Cerberus soldiers blocking their progress and Daron's biotics allowing them to pass through areas flame-chocked hallways they normally would have been unable to, Ria and Daron were able to make there way quickly through the facility with the entrance to the living quarters came into sight minutes after they had set out.

Coming to a stop, Ria slammed a fist into the door's control panel, only to be greeted by a harsh buzzing notice and a flashing red light. "The door is locked, give me a minute to get it open."

Before Ria could even make a move towards activating her omni-tool, she was shoved aside as Daron stepped forward. The door was engulfed in a shimmering azure glow a moment later, which grew in intensity before the metal gate was violently torn away and flung far down the hall behind them. _Ah, right; powerful biotic. Forgot about that for a second. _Ria thought as she turned her attention to the room beyond.

Gazing through the space that the door had once occupied, Ria saw a large chamber that had likely once served as a common area for all those living at the facility. Now however, where once had been tables, chairs, and couches for off duty scientists now was an raging inferno that engulfed the room. With how far the fire had spread Ria would have feared that all of the hostages had already perished if not for the sound of frantic hammering and cries for help carrying over the wailing warning sirens and crackle of flame.

A shimmering blue field of biotics appeared around herself and Daron, keeping the fire at bay as they moved towards the sound. Coming to the end of the hallway, they found that the cries came from behind another sealed door.

Once again Daron tore the door away with his biotics, revealing a small group of terrified men, women, and a handful of crying children. One of the men, another scientist from the look of his clothing, rushed forward to meet them, relief evident on his face. "Thank god, we thought no one was coming to help!" the man said, speaking frantically. "But three of the children are still trapped in one of the rooms! Some debris fell in the way of the door and blocked our way in."

Nodding Ria sprinted in the direction the man gestured, coming upon a door blocked by a wall of flaming rubble, just like the man had said. "Daron get this clear, now!"

No sooner had she given the order, then the rubble was shoved aside by a shockwave of biotic energy, clearing the entrance to the room. Past the now clear doorway Ria could see three children, no more then nine or ten years old, cowering in a corner of the room; their frightened cries carrying over the flames. Without hesitation Ria darted towards them, but before she could make it more then a handful of steps there was a frightening groan of tearing metal as a chunk of the burning ceiling gave way.

Leaping a step back, she just barely avoided being crushed as flaming debris fell with a resounding bang. Looking up from the rubble, she was relieved to see that the three children had been likewise unharmed. Unfortunately a pile of red hot metal and roaring flame blocked her path. Frantically she looked for a way to get past the flames, but before she could there was another groan as the ceiling above the terrified and crying children shuddered and started to collapse inward.

Before she could react Daron rushed past her, leapt through the burning derbies without disregard for his own protection. He reached the cowering children just as the ceiling above completely gave way, which fell in a gout of expanding flame that obscured all four from sight.

Ria shielded her face as a wave of heat rolled over her. Opening her eyes, she could see nothing past the smoke and fire that blocked her vision. "Daron!" she shouted as she looked frantically for any sign of movement beyond. Slowly a shadowy shape began to form out of the smoke beyond the flames, materializing until a dome of azure light could be seen. Within this biotic barrier could be seen the crouching form of the mercenary along with the three terrified but otherwise unharmed children.

Ria watched on in utter amazement as the mercenary slowly stood and began ushering the three children to there feet with motions of his arms. Slowly the four moved forward through the burning wreckage; the biotic only dropping the barrier once they had passed the wall of flames and rubble.

Ria was surprised to see that the mercenary did not appear unharmed by the blaze; parts of his armor and exposed face appearing to have been burned when he had leapt through the fire blocking his way. _He must have not had time to protect himself with his biotics._

The mercenary seemed to pay her gaze no mind as he brushed past her without a single glance and quickly led the now rescued children back to the other hostages. Still somewhat surprised with how quickly the man had jumped to their safety, Ria moved after him with a shaking her head. She could ponder his actions later, now she had almost three dozen civilians she needed to get to safety.

_**. . . . .**_

Laura leapt around the corner ahead of them, swinging her gun around as she swept for hostiles. Finding it clear of hostiles, she waved forward the quarian and dozen-odd sciences following behind. "Come on, keep it up. Kel, make sure none fall behind!"

The quarian nodded somewhat frantically before turning to usher the former hostages along with sweeping gestures of his hand. Between the blaring warning sirens, the searing heat that skyrocketed by the minute, and the smoke beginning to fog their vision; the scientists were growing more frantic by the minute, but thankfully the two of them had managed to keep the group calm.

Moving forward, Laura found herself constantly glancing back as she went, as much to keep watch over the young quarian as to the people she was trying to protect. _Why did I have to get saddled with having to babysit the rookie?_ She thought with a frown.

It wasn't long before they came upon another intersection ahead of them, after which it was a straight run to the hanger. Moving out into the intersecting hallways, Laura glanced around before calling out to the others. "Come on, we are almost there!"

At that moment, thudding footsteps caught her attention, coming from down one of the hallways._"There they are!"_ A muffled shout echoed over the crackling flames. Laura spun in the sound's direction, seeing three men in Cerberus armor coming to a stop some distance away and bringing their weapons to bear.

_Aww, shit! _Laura cursed inwardly before shouting. "Get down!" It was fortunate that all but two of the scientists were still further back down the hallway and out of the direct line of fire; and even those two that were only a handful of steps out into the open. As the Cerberus troopers opened fire, Laura threw herself between them and the exposed scientists, bullets bouncing off her shields. Waiting until both researchers had taken cover, Laura took cover up against the corner of the intersection just as her shields failed.

_Dammit what now!_ Laura groaned as she took in the situation. Glancing around, she saw that once past the Cerberus soldiers, it was a clear run._ But going past them is suicide, and between the smoke and the heat the scientists won't last long enough for me and Kel to take them out. Think Laura, think! _

Popping out of cover she fired her assault rifle full-auto to keeo the attackers suppressed before she was forced back into cover once more. Waiting for her shields to recharge, Laura weighed her options.

Around her the faculty groaned as the fire consumed it, adding to her desperation as she realized that there was only one course of action that she could take. "Kel, I am going to try and keep them busy. Get the scientists to the hanger!" the soldier shouted to the blue clad quarian.

"Y-your going to take them on by yourself!? What i-if... you'll need my-" Kel started to argue, Laura cutting him off before he can finish.

"Don't argue with me, we don't have time for that! As soon as I move around that corner, I need you and everyone else to run! Don't look back until you are inside the hanger!"

"But, I-" Kel started again, whatever he had planned to say lost as a section to the ceiling several dozen yards behind them, weakened by the flames consuming it, collapsed with a crashing boom.

"Just do it!" Laura ordered as she hoisted her rifle, and leapt out from behind cover. "Now! Go! Go!"

Not daring to glace behind to ensure that he had followed her order, the soldier opened fire, dropping one of the troopers in an onslaught of automatic fire. Rounds tore into her shields as Laura turned to the next soldier and brought her gun to bear to once more open fire. As if from nowhere she heard a deafening bang, followed by a wave of searing heat that knocked her off her feet t.

In the wake of the explosion Laura's world was a confused mess of sounds and throbbing pain, before focus slowly returned to her. Rolling over to her stomach, she pushed herself up off the floor with a groan.

Looking around she saw that the source of the explosion had been a gas pipe concealed within the nearby wall that had chosen the exact wrong time to rupture. Flames being fed by the gas now spewing from the ruptured pipe engulfed much of the wall.

Tearing her gaze away from the blaze, she saw that the two remaining Cerberus agents had fared little better then she had. One had been standing directly in front of the pipe that had ruptured, whose charred and torn body lay motionless. The other had been tossed from his feet just like she had, and was likewise struggling to rise and paw for his fallen weapon.

Seeing that her own rifle has been thrown out of her reach, Laura pushed herself to her feet and threw herself at the man, sending them both sprawling. Rolling to her feet, Laura drew her combat knife and lunged at the man, but he threw himself just out of reach at the last second. Pressing the attack, Laura stabbed at the trooper, her tempered blade piercing the ceramic plates of his armor and sinking into the man's chest.

It would have been over then if not for the thick armor the Cerberus soldier wore, which meant that the knife had pierced less deeply then it would normally have. Howling in shock and pain, the man attempted seize hold of Laura and throw her to the ground.

While wounded, the man was much larger and stronger than she was. But Laura had always excelled at close quarters combat, and managed to keep the man from getting a good hold on her. The flames engulfing the wall had begun to spread to the ceiling, which groaned ominously as the two grappled with one another for what felt like eternity, neither able to gain the upper hand.

Suddenly she slipped as her foot stepped into a pool a slick blood from one of the fallen soldiers. Caught off balance, she slammed into a nearby wall. Her head struck the unyielding surface hard, her vision flashing white.

Dazed by the impact, the alliance soldier moved completely on reflexes honed by constant training and practice. She kicked at the man's knee; which broke with a wet crack: before shoving him away. Stumbling away from the wall, Laura sluggishly drew her pistol and opened fire, finishing off the wounded man.

The room spun around her as the pain throbbing within her skull intensified. Her vision blurred and she felt her legs buckle as she dropped to her hands and knees. There was a crash as a chunk of the ceiling only a foot away. Looking up Laura saw that cracks were now spreading as the ceiling shuddered, appearing to be on the verge of collapse. With an effort she tried to stand and lurch out of the way, only to collapse after a single shaky step.

With one last groan, the ceiling gave way, collapsing in a hail of broken fragments. Just at that very moment, Laura felt something slam into her, knocking her away and onto her side. As the roaring crash of the collapse faded seconds later, Laura saw that she had been knocked partially clear from the falling rubble. Looking up she saw the silhouetted form of Kel, along with a shimmering dome of biotic energy that had evidently deflected the rubble falling over-top of them.

"T-Thought I told you... to stay with the scientists." Laura groaned as the quarian pushed himself off of her.

"I c-came back to h-help you." Kel explain, standing and extending a hand towards her.

Laura nodded slowly as she took hold of the quarian's hand, who hoisted the much larger human to her feet. Now standing, Laura starting forward, only to collapse once more, the quarian managed to catch her before she struck the ground.

"W-what happened? A-Are you hurt?" Kel asked.

"Just bumped my head, I'm fine, really" Laura slurred, shaking her head.

"I-I think you have an concussion." Kel said, his voice rising as he frantically looked around. Before she could try to reassure him that she was fine, the quarian hooked a arm under her's as he lifted her upright...

Laura's vision blurred and her surroundings slipped out of focus as she fell into a haze of throbbing pain. After some time, Laura slowly became aware that she was moving. With an effort she forced her eyes open, she saw that she was supported by Kel, who despite being over half a foot shorter then herself was now half carrying, half dragging her towards the hanger.

"What happened to the scientists. Did you just leave them?" Laura asked, finding it difficult to speak over her throbbing skull.

"No. T-They are inside the hanger... Doctor Stoyer was already there as well. Seeing as they were safe I... I decided to come back for you." Kel explained, between panting breaths.

Eventually they made it to the hanger, Kel sealing the doors behind him as he entered. "The Invisible should be here to pick us up soon... and hopefully Ria and Daron should get here soon" He explained after taking a moment to catch his breath.

Laura nodded, unable to find the effort to speak. Carrying her a few more feet, Kel lowered the gently so that her back rested against to stack of metal crates. "There... I'm glad I was able to carry you all that way... N-No offense...but you are a really heavy."

"Guess that makes us even... for me rescuing you on the Citadel" Laura said with a pained laugh as Kel wearily slumped down to rest against creates as well.

"Ya...g-guess it does."

**. . . . .**

Not long after Laura's group had reached the relative safety of the hanger-bay, Ria and Daron arrived with the the few dozen civilians they had rescued. After briefly checking Laura's condition (to which Ria was met with a lot of grumbling from the alliance soldier) paused as she heard the faint hum of the Invisible's engines from far off.

Moving over to a nearby control panel, Ria opened the hanger's doors, which slid open just in time as the Invisible's silhouette materialized from within the white haze outside and gracefully docked inside the large chamber.

"_Creator-Shepard" _Core announced over external speakers located somewhere on the ship. _"We detected that 67.32 percent of the facility has been consumed by fire, and will spread to this cargo-hold within an estimate of six minutes and thirty-one point two-seven-one seconds"_

"Alright,you heard the geth. We need to get out of here before this whole place goes" Ria ordered, waving her team and the rescued civilians alike into the ship's cargo-bay. After glancing over the hanger once more ensuring everyone was safely on board, Ria turned away from the facility as the ship pulled away and the ship's cargo-doors slid closed behind her.

After a minute crawled by, Ria glanced upward and called out to the ship's resident geth-consciousness. "Core, did the ship's sensors pick up anything on your way in? Maybe its not too-"

"_I am sorry Creator-Shepard, but it is too late to give chase. We picked up several small shuttles at the edge of the ship's scanners during our approach to your position; but are long gone by now. The chances of locating them at this point are overbearingly low._" The geth replied, Ria detecting what sounded like a hint of empathy in the synthesized voice.

"Dammit, now what!?" the quarian fumed, kicking at metal crate in her frustration. Ignoring the pain that lanced up her foot, she continued ranting on. "We not only lost our best and probably only chance to find a Code-Martix, but also to get the encryption key we need to use it..."

Ria's voice trailed off as she hung her head. "I... I know that I made my choice...but I can't see how we can possibly be able to find one now..."

"Maybe not" Doctor Lenand said, stepping forward, to which Ria shot the scientist a questioning look. "While Cerberus did destroy the Code-Matrix and get away with my teams work, I think I can point you in the direction of somewhere you can look."

"Where is it!? How do you know about it!?" Ria asked quickly, perking up at the woman's words.

"About three years ago, Eridu Technologies discovered the location of a ruined prothean research base that our sources indicated might contain a trove of working prothean technology.." The scientist explained, before adding. "This was kept secret from all but a few of the company executives and a few scientists such as myself... however, things did not go as planned."

"What happened?"

"The team sent to explore the site stopped reporting back after a few weeks. After another week of no word from them, the company hired mercenaries to investigate... who never returned. It was decided that we couldn't risk any more people and money on trying to investigating what happened, let alone continuing with the excavation of the ruins."

Pausing the scientist activated her omni-tool before speaking again. "I was never told exactly where the ruins were located, but over the years I have have been able to gather enough information to hopefully point you in the right direction."

""T-thank you, this is a huge help. Even if we don't find what we nee there, we don't have any other leads. " Ria said, activating her own omni-tool. "What will your superiors do if they find out that you gave us this information."

"I don't care what they will do or say about it. You decided to save all of our lives despite knowing that doing so meant that those bastards got away with everything, I owe you this much at the very least. That, and this way I can help to make up for whatever harm we caused by being forced to help Cerberus."

"I appreciate it." Ria replied, briefly looking over the files the lead scientist had given her before closing her omni-tool, nodding in thanks once more. Taking her leave, the young quarian activated her suit's comms. "Core, make sure we set a course of the nearest port we can safely drop off the scientists at. After which, inform everyone to meet me in the comms-room. We need to discuss our next move."

* * *

**Author's Note: **Despite having no classes for three weeks I will be continuing to post one chapter every two weeks, so that I can once again get ahead of scheduel (which worked really well before to ensure I chapters are posted on a consistent interval.)


	20. Chapter 20: After a Fire

_4/26/2209_

"Because of your decision to save a few insignificant lives, Cerberus has once again gotten what they were after, while we are left with nothing!" Daron growled. In his anger an aura of azure energy surged around a clenched fist.

"I don't care how "insignificant" their lives are in the long run; I will not stand by and let innocents die for the sake of the mission! I will do whats right, and to hell with what you think about it!" Ria shouted in response, her eyes narrowing to a glare that knifed into the human biotic.

It had been several hours since they had left the research facility on Noveria. After dropping off the former hostages at a nearby space-port, Ria had called most of her team (with Laura having staying in the med-bay under observation for at-least a few more hours as a result of the concussion she had sustained) to the comms room to discuss there next move.

For a time, the meeting had gone smoothly. After first going over the events of the past few hours for Jalin's and Tarran's sake, Ria explained about the lead Doctor Lenand had provided them. It was during this part of the debriefing however, that Daron once again called her out on her decision to rescue the researchers rather then go after the fleeing Cerberus soldiers: which quickly escalated to the heated debate they were now locked in.

For their part the other three occupying the room said nothing, choosing to stay out of the way as she and Daron continued butting-heads. Tarran sat nearly motionless, his narrowed eyes following the mercenary. Ria could tell that the turian was fighting to urge to come to her defense, but knew and respected her enough to let her fight her own battles. Jalin likewise sat motionless, though his expression appeared far calmer then the turian's as he watched on from the sidelines. Kel appeared far more uncomfortable then the other two, seeming to be attempting to sink into his chair and out of the way.

"Do you really think I would have enjoyed leaving those people to die?" the biotic retorted. "I wouldn't have liked it any more then you, but I still would have done it without hesitation had it been my choice."

"Is it really worth it? How can you truly know that letting those people die would have saved more in the long run" Ria frowned from behind her mask

"Its no worse uncertainty we now face because of your weakness." the man replied coldly.

Ria's frown deepened, her growing anger and frustration evident in her voice. "You seem to be leaving out the fact that we still have a lead, something that for once Cerberus doesn't know about."

The mercenary gave her mirthless chuckle before responding. "One thats unreliable at best. You have no idea if we will find anything there. Its a gamble and you know it... a gamble we could have avoided if you had the nerve to make hard choices."

"Why do you care anyways? You don't have to work with us!" Ria shot back. "If you don't like how I do things, they you can get the hell off this ship for all I care."

"Why do I care? Because I understand what is at stake. I know what kind of people Cerberus are, what they are capable of doing." Daron laughed coldly. "I know what they have done, and they must pay. Pay for what they have done to so many, for what they plan to do, for what they did to me-"

With those words Daron abruptly fell silent, his jaw clenching and unclenching with the anger flashing across his visage. Slowly he began to speak again, his voice low and so calm and cold that if startled Ria more then the open anger had been. "This is a waste of time. If you need me I will be in my quarters." the man replied as her turned and stormed out of the room.

"That bosh'tet" Ria muttered under her breath, her hands trembling with pent up frustration. At last Ria turned away from the door and back to her three teammates who remained inside the room; finding them all gazing at her with concerned looks on their faces (or in Kel's case, what little of his face she could see through his mask)

"Ria, we wouldn't mind if we waited to go over the remaining details later if you need time to cool off for a bit." Tarran offered, the concern apparent on the normally hard-to-read turian startling Ria.

"I...I don't need to-" Ria snapped, cutting herself off as she realized just how angry the mercenary had made her. Taking a deep breath to calm herself, Ria strove to speak slowly and calmly as she continued. "Ya, okay... its not like we know anything about these ruins anyways. I will have Core begin analysis of the data we were given: hopefully he will be able to give us a better idea of where they are located soon enough."

Nodding Tarran stood to leave, Kel and Jalin soon following suit. While the quarian and the turian headed for the door, Ria saw that Jalin was instead moving towards where she stood in the middle of the chamber. "Ria, do you mind if I talk to you for a minute?" the salarian asked, coming to a stop before her.

"Uhh, sure, I guess" she replied in a tone muted by her weariness. Glancing around the room Ria saw that while the Kel had already exited the room, Tarran had come to a stop before the door and had turned to look back at her, evidently hesitant to leave.

"I'm fine Tarran, really." Ria said wear sigh. "You don't have to stick around and keep watch over me or anything. I will catch up with you a bit later, okay?"

Reluctantly Tarran nodded in acceptance of her words and withdrew. Once the turian had gone, the comms room stood empty but for Jalin and Ria herself.

Taking a seat on one of the chairs, Jalin doing the same in taking a seat in one of the chair across from her. For several heartbeats the salarian said nothing; appearing to be lost in thought with his only movement being the rhythmical tapping of his fingers against his leg. At last the movement ceased and her adviser cleared his throat before speaking."You shouldn't let what Daron said regarding your choice anger you. Its your belief that should matter to you, not his."

"What if I'm not even sure i made the right call? what if I'm angry because I can't say for certain that he's wrong?" Ria frowned, crossing her arms over her knees.

The salarian was silent for a heartbeat, before replying with a question "Do you regret your decision to save those people?"

"N-no...I...I don't know." Ria replied, shaking her head. "I don't regret saving their lives, but...I still don't know if I made the right decision."

"If you could go back in time and make the choice again, do you think you would have chosen differently?"

"I... No. No, I don't think I would have." Ria replied haltingly, her gaze drawn downward. For a handful of heartbeats, Ria thought more on the salarian's question before at last she lifted her gaze as spoke in a more sure tone. "I mean, I don't regret saving their lives...and I don't think I could have ever just stood there and let civilians, let alone children, die when I could save them."

"Then I think its clear that no matter if your choice was right or wrong, no matter the consequences; you would have always saved those people and fretting over speculation that you should have chosen the later is a moot concern." Jalin explained in a voice slower and more deliberate then normal; seeming keen on ensuring all his words had weight behind them. "Do not let what Daron said effect you, for just because he would have chosen differently, or if anyone else would have, does not mean you were wrong or even that you were right. Whats important is that you made the choice that you believe is just, and that is all that should matter to you."

Ria said nothing as she nodded slowly in acceptance of his words.

Sighing, the lieutenant spoke again, this time in a softer more empathetic tone."If it is any comfort to you, allow me to say that given the circumstances you faced down there, I believe you made the right choice."

"How do you know? How do you know that going after Cerberus wouldn't have ended up for the better?" she replied softly.

"There is a difference between doing was right and whats most beneficial, Ria. Going after Cerberus might have been the more logical choice, but I know that if you had done so you would have regretted it the rest of your life."

"Why is that?" Ria asked, at last finding the courage to life her gaze to meet the salarian's.

"Because I know I have..." Jalin replied with a heavy sigh.

Ria gazed at the salarian with a mix of curiosity, shock at his sudden openness about his past, and a flash of empathy. "What happened?"

"Several years ago, back when I was still an member of the salarian STG; I had to sacrifice the majority of my team, along with nearly fifty hostages." Jalin explained, his voice heavy. "I mentioned that having to make unsavory decisions was one of my reasons I left the STG, was it not? Well, it was this mission that forced my decision to retire from active duty. After what had happened, I felt that I could no longer accept the possibility of having to do the same thing again..."

"Why are you telling me this?" Ria asked after a long pause.

"So that you understand why I think you choose rightly this day...and so that you understand what kind of choice you might have to face in the future... and so that you perhaps can choose better then I did." Jalin answered, his voice oddly distant; as if his mind were wandering through his memories.

Ria nodded slowly, unsure if it would be be best to abandon this topic; if only so that the salarian biotic did not have to continue to dredge up obviously painful memories.

Jalin evidently caught her hesitant look she had given him, the salarian giving her a sad smile as he replied. "No, it is all right. I have come to terms with what I have done enough to at the very least speak openly about it..."

He cleared his throat before continuing."I am not sure if you are aware or not, as this was not well known outside of inner-council-space, but in the years 2199 to 2203 large scale insurgence occurred in several of the smaller joint-race colonies, along the edge of turian space." Jalin explained. "There was no single group, so the reasons for their desire to overthrow council control on those planets varied greatly, but for four years these insurgence group battled a bloody gorilla war on these isolated colonies."

"I know a little about it. Mostly from what I was told by my parents: my dad was asked to consult with a few spectres assigned to help quell that rebellion, though he didn't get involved directly." Ria replied.

"Good, then I shall not need to explain the situation much further." Jalin replied with a quick dip of his head. "Near the end of this conflict, one of the larger insurgence groups had taken control of a chemical plant in an isolated area of one of the colonies. They had taken most of the workers there hostage, and were planning to use the toxic chemicals in bombs. In doing so they hoped to poison entire cities in future bombings to cause more damage then what they had done in the past... of course, we weren't about to let that happen."

"The area was heavily fortified and the council could not spare the soldiers needed for a frontal assault to retake the plant. So the STG was called in to deal with it." Jalin said, pausing as if lost in memory. After a slow, sad shake of his head, he continued. "The team I was part of at the time was selected to carry out this mission. We were twenty members strong, with myself the second in command."

Ria nodded, daring not interrupt the salarian as she waited for him to continue.

After a few seconds crawled by, Jalin appeared to have once again found the courage to continue. "The plan was simple: two of our number would sneak in thirty minutes ahead of the rest of us to take out the plant's alarm systems and to sabotage whatever they could. After which, the team's captain and eleven others would hit the plant in a frontal assault to draw off the bulk of their forces. Meanwhile, myself and the remaining five were to sneak unnoticed into the plant's power core and place explosives that when detonated destroy the entire facility before rescuing the hostages."

"What went wrong?" Ria asked softly.

"At first nothing. Everything went off without issue, with myself and those with me reaching the reactor with only one casualty. However, just as has finished planting the explosives, I received word from the distraction team. Apparently there had been far more insurgents at the chemical plant then our intel had indicated, and they had reacted to our presence far quicker then we had foreseen. Three of the distraction team had already fallen, the captain included."

"With his death, I was now in charge of the operation. I had my orders, that if we met heavier resistance then expected and the distraction team failed, I was to set the explosives timer to a mere ten minutes. We could not risk there being a chance of the bombs being disarmed, which was all too likely if the insurgents were left unoccupied." .

The salarian turned his gaze away, but not before Ria caught the pained look in his eyes. "However, I knew that if I was to do so, it would mean the deaths of both the hostages and the remaining members of the distraction team. They had been cut off from escape and were surrounded, with the only possible method of survival being the intervention from myself. However, there was no way I could do so before the bomb went off. Same with rescuing the hostages, there simply was not enough time. If I were to save either of them, I would've had to set the timer for a longer period of time... and risk it being disarmed."

"...I would have saved them... I would have... but I had my orders." Jalin said, his voice wavering slightly. "I set the timer and retreated from the facility with the few remaining operatives i had with me. Of the four, one was killed as we retreated. Of the two infiltrators that had been sent ahead to sabotage the enemy systems, only one survived, managing to withdraw before the bomb went off..."

There was a long, uncomfortable pause as the lieutenant fell silent. Ria almost begun to think he would not continue before at last Jalin sighed and continued on with his tale. In the end the chemical plant was destroyed, along with nearly one hundred and fifty insurgents...but at the cost of the lives of fifteen members and forty seven civilians.

The room fell silent once more as the salarian finished. For a time, Ria said nothing, trying to find the right words to convey her response to the salarian's story. "I'm sorry... " Ria said, failing to find any other words to convey her empathy towards the lieutenant.

"You have nothing to be sorry about, Ria. I made my choice, and I deserve no pity for what I have done." the salarian said with a slow, sad shake of his head. "We alone are responsible for our own choices. I only wish for you to understand what it means to make a choice between doing whats right and whats best. Perhaps you can learn from my own failure in that regard."

Ria said nothing, too lost in pondering the salarian's final piece of advice to answer. Nodding, Jalin stood and made his way towards the exit. Reaching the door, he looked back at the quarian. "Do not fret too much on your decision Ria. You will be fortunate, and I do hope you are, if that is the hardest decision you will have to face."

With that, Jalin withdrew from the room, leaving Ria alone to ponder all that the salarian had told her.

**. . . . .**

Kel sat alone in a isolated corner of the ship's dinning area, trying to avoid undue attention from any of few other crew members in the room. While he hadn't had any problems from the humans or turians that served as the Invisible's crew, he had always found interacting with others an awkward affair.

Thoroughly exhausted after the events that day, Kel had attempted to get some rest shortly after the mission debriefing had come to a close. Sleep however, had not come easily, and after a few hours of tossing and turning the young quarian had made his way here the to ship's mess hall.

"Hey Kel."

The blue-clad quarian nearly leapt from his seat in surprise at the voice,his eyes darting around frantically in search for its source of the greeting. At last his eyes fell on the somewhat familiar shape of Laura Alenko, the only visible sign of her injury the stark white bandage wrapped around her head. Kel watched as his fellow teammate made her way over to the table where he sat and took a seat across from him.

Kel looked away awkwardly, a motion that the soldier clearly noticed. "Oh, sorry. I didn't mean to bother you,"

"N-no, its okay..." Kel blurted out quickly, not wanting to offend the soldier. "You aren't bothering me, so don't worry about...it..." An awkward silence fell between them as Kel trailed off, during which the quarian could practically feel the seconds ticking by.

"So, uh...hows your head?" Kel asked at last, slowing inching his gaze upward to meet her's as he spoke.

"Hurts like hell" Laura replied bluntly. "Though thats at least an improvement over before."

"Oh...sorry..." Kel mumbled awkwardly, averting his gaze once more.

Once more an awkward silence passed between them until Laura attempted to restart the conversation again. "Anyways, I just wanted to thank you again for, well, pulling my ass out of the fire... literally in this case. That and to... apologize."

This last statement startled and confused the young quarian. "A-Apologize ? For what? I mean, you haven't d-done anything t-to bother me..."

"Well, yes...but... " Laura trailed off with a sigh, finding it difficult to find the right words the situation needed. "To be honest, when you first joined us I had thought that you, well, shouldn't have. That you were too inexperienced and were liable to get yourself or one of us killed; and that you shouldn't be allowed to come with us for your own and our sakes..."

Kel said nothing in reply, lowering his gaze further.

Sighing again, Laura continues speaking "I guess what I am trying to say was that I was wrong. You have proven to be just as much a part of this team as anyone else here. Heck, if it wasn't for you I'd be six feet under right now."

"I-I, thank you...b-but you d-don't need to a-apologies for...I c-completely unders-s-stand your...mistrust." Kel stuttered in response, finding it difficult to form coherent words as a result of his surprise at the woman's clear complement _Keelah, calm down would you...you're embarrassing yourself, _the quarian mentally scolded himself as he desperately attempted to recapture the ability to speak coherently.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to get your worked up about it or anything. Just felt that I owed you a bit of a apology is all... though you really should try to relax a bit." Laura quickly replied, having not indented to provoke such a reaction from him.

"Oh, uh, sorry. I will try to... not... freak out as much." Kel trailed off, finding himself thankful that his suit hid his expression from sight as his cheeks darkened in embarrassment.

Silence reined once more as Kel averted his gaze. "Well..." Laura rubbed the back of her neck, anything to break the awkward moment. "I guess i should be trying to get some rest, doctor's orders."

"Oh, Okay. S-See you around then." Kel replied lamely, finding himself wishing more and more every instant that he could simply vanish from sight and save himself the embarrassment he was now feeling.

Nodding, Laura pushed herself to her feet."Take care of yourself, Kel." she said in closing before she turned and left.

Once the human woman had left the room, Kel let his shoulders and head fall forward to land against the table with a muted thud. _Keelah, why did this sort of thing have to be so confusing? _

**. . . . .**

Ria stared out into the dark abyss of space, just beyond the wide windows that lined one side of the room. It was late into the night, or at least what passed for night on a ship run by day and night cycles, and many hours had passed since her heated argument with Daron during the debriefing. Her subsequent chat with Jalin had left a profound impression, and made her smile slightly at the memory. After leaving the comms-room, Ria had attempted to busy herself with work in engineering, only to find her restless mind wandering back to the day's events. After an hour of this, she had given up her attempt to keep her mind occupied on other matters and had come here to the ship's observation deck.

She knew that she should be trying to rest and recuperate from the strain she had been forced to endure that day. While in truth she felt exhausted, both physically and mentally; somehow she knew that her restless mind would find sleep impossible.

The more Ria thought about it, the more she became aware that her unease came as a result of more then just her uncertainty regarding the choice she had been forced to make that day. Rather it came more from the feeling of uncertainty, doubt, and dread about the future of her mission that seemed to hang over her mind like a ominous shadow.

A faint thumping sound of footsteps coming down the hallway followed by a _whoosh _of air of a door sliding open caught the quarian's attention. Turning in her chair, Ria saw the source of the noise was Tarran.

"Hey, sorry to intrude if you wanted to be alone or something." the turian said in greeting from where he stood in the doorway. "But given how upset you were before, I thought you could use a bit of company to help you keep your mind off what happened down there."

Ria waved him towards one of the empty chairs across from her in invitation.

Nodding, Tarran made his way over to the vacant seat beside her and plopped down heavily. Sitting down, he produced a small bottle of some alcoholic beverage the quarian didn't not recognize. "Want some?" Tarran asked, holding out the bottle to offer it to the quarian.

"No thanks. Besides, unless its sterilized I could get a bit sick." Ria replied, gesturing at her suit to highlight her point.

"Never stopped you before." Tarran smiled with a small shrug of his shoulders before pulled the bottle away. Removing the lid, the turian took a long sip from the bottle before setting it down on the table in front of him. "Oh, I almost forgot. I was in the mess hall when Core something about you "having not eaten anything in over fourteen hours" and asked me to bring you some food." Tarran said, retrieving a tube of nutrient paste and small air-tight container of sterilized water from a pouch on his armor.

"Thanks," Ria replied, catching the two containers that Tarran tossed her, "though I am almost positive that Core didn't use _**those **_exact words."

"Well, his exact words were "not having consumed any nutrients in fourteen hours, twenty-point-something-or-other minutes and that I bring you sustenance so that you don't risk having to operate at sub-optimal capacity," so I may have paraphrased just a little." Tarran replied

"Just a bit." Ria said with a small laugh. The sound somewhat startled even herself, as it was the first cheerful sound she had made since the previous day's events. "You know, sometimes I wonder if Core is just playing up "logical" speaking patterns to sound smarter."

"Hah, ya" Tarran agreed with a low chuckle."Given how geth share most sensory data and memories between each other you wouldn't expect them to have widely different personalities; but Core's as different from Al as I am from you or anyone else" Tarran noted. "Then again, I havn't have much experience with geth, besides from Aristotle. But thats really only because of all the times my dad dragged me along to visit you and your family."

"Well, no one geth is truly the same as another, at least since the upgrades they received twenty-four years ago." Ria explained. "Though i suppose it can be... difficult for most people to differentiate one geth from another, since in many ways geth personalities tend to vary in entirely different ways to how those of organics do."

"Hmm, any idea why?" Tarran asked in a somewhat absent voice as he opened the lid of his own drink before taking a long draft from the bottle.

"I'm not sure exactly, but I think this is a byproduct of each "individual" geth consciousness being made up of hundreds of less intelligent programs. This "collective mind" is entirely different from the neural structure most organic races, or even from more traditional AI such as EDI; thus meaning geth's thought-processes are often entirely alien to ours or other A.I... and this is going way over your head isn't it?" Ria said, trailing off with another small laugh.

"Well, I got about half of that, though to be honest I wasn't paying all that much attention anyways. Still, have to admit that being able to follow along that well is pretty good for someone who _**didn't**_ study A.I. as a child." Tarran replied with a self-satisfied grin.

Ria said nothing as she rolled her eyes, knowing that the turian could see that particular expression through her visor. Taking the opportunity presented by the lull in conversation, Ria placed the tube of nutrient paste into a port on the underside of her visor; squeezing it's contents of bland tasting goop into her mouth.

The two sat in silence for another handful of minutes, Ria struggling with finding something to say. At last Ria broke the silence, voicing something that had been beginning to bother her for the past few weeks. "You know, I just realized that the two of us hadn't really sat down and talked much since we began this crazy adventure. I mean, I know we've been occupied with more important things, but with how often you were around when we were kids you were the closest thing I had to having a brother or cousin growing up. But after not really seeing each other very often over the past few years, I guess things have become a bit... awkward..." Ria trailed off with a shrug.

Tarran nodded, taking another draft of his drink before answering. "I get you... I have been thinking the same thing, more or less. I guess that since i began serving my mandatory stint for the turian military... eight, nine years ago?" Tarran said, pausing as he considered the time frame for a few heartbeats before continuing with a shake of his head. "Ah anyways, since then life has been moving so fast it's been difficult to find time for any of my friends... you included of course."

"I can see how that could happen" Ria said with a small frown. "I always forget that as a turian, you reached adulthood and began taking on responsibilities years ago, while I was still stuck living with my parents and waiting for my pilgrimage to begin."

"Ya, you would think the universe would have the courtesy to make every species age at the same rate so that childhood friendships between races wouldn't end up being so complicated." Tarran quiped with a small smile.

"Ah hah! so you DO still have a sense of humor! I have been a bit disappointed by the lack of bad jokes and snarky comments that the old Tarran used to be fond of."

"Heh! ya... sorry to disappoint you, but that's something i've more or less grown out of." The turian replied. "But back to the topic at hand; I wholeheartedly agree that we owe each other some time to catch up."

"Well, I would actually like it if you could start by explaining why you have decided abandoned your role as the comedian of our group of friends." Ria replied after a moment of thought.

"Okay then, this will need some explanation... I think my tendency to spout bad jokes while growing up really came as a result of my father's influence. Spend enough time around him and his humor begins to rub of on you." Tarran explained. "When I was a kid, I wanted to be just like him. To be able to do whatever I wanted, no matter what people or rules said I could and couldn't do."

"So what changed?" Ria asked thoughtfully.

"Well, for one thing as I grew older I just began to feel that I needed to move out of my father's shadow and become my own person rather then just emulate him."

"Mhmm."

"That and after serving in the military and C-Sec for a decade I just began to see life a bit differently then my father. As I began to take on more responsibilities I started to see why rules and order could be needed."

Tarran paused to take another swig from the glass bottle before him. "I mean, I respect my dad, a lot... But i guess i just started to disagree a bit with his way of doing things. And somewhere along the way... I realized i should take life more seriously."

"So basically what you are telling me is it that you became more uptight and serious as a form of teenage rebellion." Ria laughed, tilting her head to the side in a gesture that served as a smile for quarians when wearing their suits.

"Hm, I guess I never thought of it that way." Tarran grinned, joining her laughter with a few of his own soft chuckles. As their laughter faded, the two resumed talking long into the night, remembering their childhood exploits and reminiscing. Ria laughed and joked, and for a time, she completely forgot about her doubts, and Cerberus, and everything else the universe threw at her while she chatted with her oldest friend.

* * *

**Authors Note:**Well, another chapter down. We have now hit (or are at least close to) the rough half-way point in the story, so things will defiantly begin escalating from here.

In other news I have decided to go forward with something I have been considering and working on for some time, that being the creation of character biographies for all of the new characters. This bios gives detailed descriptions of the character's personalities, information about their skills, weapons of choice, and powers (as if they were actually squad mates in a Mass Effect game).

These will be posted every other week opposite of when I post chapters, thus there will be something every week if everything goes as planned. Unfortunately, this site's rules forbid this type of content from being posted, so I will instead be posting this in the blog section of my Bioware Social Network account (account there is _**TheWerdna**_), and perhaps on deviantART.

Anyhow, feel free to give any feedback you may have, whether it be suggestions, criticism, or just general comments; since, well I am a sucker for feedback. In fact, given how the most feedback I ever received came after my "evil" cliffhanger, I might be forced to do something like that again in the future**evil grin**


	21. Chapter 21: A Shadow Out Of The Past

_4/29/2210_

Shepard's mind wandered as he gazed into the fish tank that lined one wall of the dimly lit cabin. He knew that he should be doing something other then just stewing in the gloom of his cabin, but he had found it hard to focus on the matter at hand; not when he felt that he should be at his lifemate's side (who was currently dozing quietly besides him) until she fully recovered.

It didn't help that Liara had yet to produce any results regarding the tracker Tali had placed on the Cerberus assassin, which had forced Shepard to endure a extended period of inactivity. He hated just sitting her and waiting while Cerberus did who knows what. He was wasting time, he had to do something soon or he would lose his mind.

_But thats not really why you are uneasy, is it?_ He asked himself bitterly. Y_ou know full well that Tali is fine and doesn't need you worrying over her every minute of the day. Nor is it the lack of action, since you have had to wait around for longer during missions of the past, and this is no where near as bad as when a minutes wait meant hundreds more died at the reaper's hands. No, its your daughter's safety that is really bothering you._

Liara's advice during their last conversation a week ago had troubled him greatly, still finding it difficult to accept what she had told him. In his heart he knew she was right, that he needed to just trust his daughter, trust that she could handle herself. Yet whether due to his normal concern and protectiveness for all his loved ones, or fatherly instinct, he found no matter how hard he tried to convince himself he simply could not accept letting it go.

"Hey, whats the matter?" The comforting voice of Tali asked from somewhere behind him. He felt the soft touch of a slim hand gently grasp his forearm, her touch reassuring.

Shepard turned to regard his lifemate, and he immediately felt his concern melt away in favor of a smile. Seeing her face cast in the blue light from the fish tank and silver eyes staring back at him through the darkened room. "You should be trying to sleep, you need rest until you recover fully." he replied softly, brushing aside a few loose strands of hair that had fallen over her face.

"I think I have gotten enough sleep over the past few days to last me a lifetime" she laughed softly. "But you didn't answer my question. What's bothering you?"

"What makes you say something is?" he answered, trying to sound as convincing as possible.

"Because I _know_ you, and I _know_ that look. Please John, you can tell me."

"I'm just worried about Ria... I guess I am not sure I should have let her get involved in this, put herself in danger."

"I know how you're feeling, I'm worried about her safety and terrified of what might happen to her." Tali reassured him, with a small comforting smile before continuing. "But I also know that our daughter can handle herself, perhaps even better then another young quarian on _her_ pilgrimage so many years ago. And if I recall, a certain _dashing commande**r **_let her go with him, despite the danger and her inexperience."

"I know its just... I want her to be safe. If she was hurt because I let her get herself into danger I don't know what I would do. I almost lost you last mission and I can't bare the thought of either of you getting-"

"Shh" Tali said, placing a finger over his mouth quieting him. "You remember when Ria and her friends ran off without permission to go see the spot where you killed that reaper back on Rannoch? I believe she said that she wanted to see the memorial where Legion gave his life and maybe find a piece of the reaper that was never recovered, but I think that she simply enjoyed the idea of going on a little adventure."

"Yes, along with how worried and angry I was with her afterwords." he replied, finding the corners of his mouth twisting into a small smile at Tali's mention of one of the more memorable moments of their daughter's childhood.

"Then you also remember how she snuck out three nights later to go climb down the cliffs leading to the beach near our home, even after scolding her for her recklessness and explaining the danger of going off without supervision. I think that was just to spite your orders more then anything."

"Yes, Ria has always been a stubborn one. I still don't see what that has to do with-"

"Or before that, when ten years ago she, Tarran, Laura, and Mordin snuck away from that reunion party to explore the citadel on their own, and ended up somehow getting into the consort's chambers." Tali added, cutting him off once more.

"I still don't see how that matters."

"Then let me explain, you big bosh'tet." Tali said in a fond tone, with only just a hint of actual exasperation in her voice. "It matters because those examples show that its simply in Ria's nature to get into herself into trouble like that. You could stop her no more stop her then I could stop you from rushing to help people who are in danger with no regard for your own safety."

Tali grabbed hold of his shoulders and turned him to face her, their eyes meeting before she continued. "You may not like the idea of our daughter being in danger, neither do I. But Ria has always taken risks, and just like you, she would leap into harms way in an instant if it meant helping others. So please, trust her to have the freedom to do what she thinks is right, just as myself and all your friends have had to do for you over the years."

Shepard was silent for several moments, before at last he leaned forward to plant a kiss on the quarian's forehead. "I don't know where I would be without you to help me see reason when I'm being too stupid or foolish on my own."

"Don't feel bad John, it just takes awhile for things to penetrate your thick skull." Tali grinned jokingly "Honestly, I wonder sometimes what protects you more, your helmet or your abnormally hard head-"

"Shepard, we have an incoming transmission from the council. Apparently it's urgent." Joker announced over the Normandy's intercom, interrupting whatever his quarian lifemate had been going to say.

Shepard and Tali traded glances. Before he could begin to speak, Tali nudged him with her elbow, conveying for him to go.

Nodding, he turned his attention away from her and directed his voice towards the ship's pilot. "Put it through to the ship's QEC." the spectre answered, standing up and heading for the cabin's door.

"Okay, just give me a minute to prepare myself to cut communications at a moments notice, then I will be ready to go." Joker replied, the smirking grin he was undoubtedly now sporting completely evident in his voice.

"Jeff, you are aware that I can cut the ship's communications if Shepard grows weary of conversing with the council." EDI commented, speaking up over the comms as well.

"Come on EDI, don't take this away from me. You know how much I enjoy helping Shepard piss off politicians." Joker retorted.

Bemused, Shepard grinned as he punched the button for the elevator to descend to the deck bellow him.

**. . . . .**

Shepard entered the ship's comms room a few minutes later, making his way over to the QEC at the far end of the room. He had to wait a few seconds before the projector across from him flared to lif and the holographic images of the human, asari, and turian councilor began to materialized before him. He was unsurprised that only three of councilors were present, since as a result of a shear number of races that now had representatives in the New Council it was rare for all to ever be in the same place at once.

"Councilors" Shepard said in greeting with a small incline of his head.

"Spectre Shepard." the asari councilor greeted in kind. "Two matters of importance have recently come to our attention that we need to discuss, so allow us to skip the pleasantries and get down to business."

"Understood. " the spectre nodded. "What's the emergency?"

"Two hours ago, a long range scanner at the edge Maroon Sea cluster picked up a signal of an unidentified vessel shortly before going offline. Normally, this matter would be of little importance if not for that it was heading towards the sector containing a derelict reaper you discovered five years ago. If our suspicions are correct, then someone has discovered its location and may be trying to gain control of it for their own ends."

For several stunned moments, Shepard said nothing, staring at the council dumbfoundedly with his mouth agape "You didn't have it destroyed?! What. The. Hell. Where. You. Thinking!? Are you completely out of your mind!?" he growled angrily.

"Spectre, it is not your place to pass judgment on our actions." the turian councilor retorted defensively, a hint of anger entering the alien's voice.

"As you are well aware, the "dead" Reaper found at the edge of the Maroon Sea star cluster presented an unique opportunity for study not found in any other Reaper corpse we have come across. While completely "brain dead", for lack of a better term, it still had power and many of its systems were stll functional. Every other Reaper was completely inactive." The asari councilor interjected.

A chill ran up his spine as the councilor's words brought forth unbidden memories of his first foray into that very reaper, and of the horrors he had encountered within it. Squeezing his eyes shut, Shepard forced the memories aside before speaking, the anger in his voice replaced by a cold dread. "How could you even think of sending researchers into...that thing? Are there people in their right now?"

"As a result of budget constraints and the secrecy of this matter, research has yet to begin on the Reaper corpse." the human councilor answered, speaking up for the first time. "We also ensured that the entire area was watched, so that no ship could enter within an hour's travel of the site without us knowing immediately, which fortunately proved successful in this case."

Shepard said nothing, simply nodding his head in understanding of councilor's words.

Seeing that no response was forthcoming, the asari councilor continued on from her earlier line of discussion. "We are unsure how anyone discovered its location, its very existence was only known to the members of the council, yourself and a handful of other. For this reason we need you to go there and investigate who or what has discovered it."

"So, I am supposed to clean up your mess. We wouldn't be in this mess if you had just destroyed the damn thing!" Shepard replied with a growl.

"What we did or not do is irrelevant in this matter. You have your assignment Spectre. Whether you you are up to it or not is your own choice."

Shepard clenched his teeth in frustration, fighting to keep his anger in check. In truth, there was something that bothered him far more then councilor's decision to not destroy the derelict reaper. What concerned him more was that he honestly wasn't sure that we _**was**_ up to the task or not. Having to return to that... that place again frightened frightened the spectre. Frightened him far more then he was willing to admit even to himself.

No, he would not let that stop him. He had faced worse before, and he could do it again. With this thought in mind, the spectre shoved aside his fear and spoke with what confidence he could muster. "I am."

"I am glad to hear it spectre." the asari replied with a nod."Now, on to our second matter we must attend to at this meeting; which is regretfully something that concerns you in a personal sense."

Shepard felt his heart skip a beat at those words, fear gripping him as he began to suspect the identity of the matter.

As he watched on the turian councilor stepped forward, moving into the forefront of the three as he moved to speak; his is voice taking on a cold, businesslike tone. "It has come to our attention that Invisible SR3, one of the five most advanced ships the council possesses, has been taken without our consent. What is most troubling, is that our sources indicate that the group those responsible for the theft of top-secret military hardware include your own daughter. Not to mention that these sources also indicate that Spectre Vakarian, Spectre Alenko, and yourself were all aware of this occurrence. and failed to report it to us, nor take any action that would lead to their surrender of stolen Council property. Now I would like to know what your explanation for this outrageous-"

"Spectre Shepard" the asari councilor said, cutting the turian. "What Councilor Destcus means to say is that we would like it if you were to be so kind to shed some light on the situation."

Shepard's fingers clenched involuntary as the councilors spoke, his mouth twisting into a grimace as he considered his options. He could of course say nothing; refuse to tell the Council anything regarding his daughter's activities. But that could very well anger the council even more, which would likely just make things worse for Ria. But he couldn't tell them everything, not without the risk that what he told them would give the council what they needed to find out Ria's current location and activities. S_talling won't help any,_ so m_y only choice is to find out what they are planning to do about Ria, _Shepard thought to himself.

"I have nothing to say other then that I believed at the time, and still believe, that allowing my daughter and those with her to pursue Cerberus on their own was the best course of action." Shepard replied coldly, matching the councilor's tone. "Now, could we just skip to the point: unless you would rather waste all our time by scolding me first?I know ho much the council loves to act superior to everyone, but right now I'm not in the mood to indulge you."

The asari councilor eyes widened with surprise, caught off-guard by the forcefulness of the spectre's reply. Her mouth opened if to speak, but appeared to be incapable of forming words.

"Its very simple, Spectre." The Turian councilor spat, recovering from his own surprise far quicker then his asari compatriot. "In addition to the theft of Council property, your daughter and her friends have engaged in vigilantism within council space. Impersonation of council officials, and inference with matters of galactic security; all of which are capital offenses. However, in light of your, Spectre Vakarian's, and Spectre Alenko's past service we are willing to drop all charges, provided you ensure that they surrender the Invisible to us and cease all involvement with the hunt for remaining Cerberus agents."

"Indeed" the human councilor said in agreement with the turian. "If you do not keep your daughter and her friends from interfering further, the council will be forced to take action against them on our own, and we can assure you that in this case we will not be as lenient."

Shepard stood silent for several moments, unsure of what he should do. In truth, part of him yearned to do exactly what the councilor's ordered, for doing so he could ensure that his daughter would be safe. Ria would no longer be in harms way, no longer having to face the risks inherent of of the mission she currently faced. Maybe the councilor's were right, maybe he should have never let her get involved...

But... but in his heart he knew that he _**did**_ need her help, that the galaxy needed both of them if they were to have any chance of stopping Cerberus. As much as he wanted her safety, no matter how hard it would be for him, he knew that he had to trust his daughter. With that final thought, the spectre made up his mind.

"No." Shepard answered, his voice deathly calm as he gave his answer.

Once again the councilors were left dumbstruck by the spectre's answer, evidently having not considered the possibility that he would refuse their offer. "What!?" the turian councilor said at last, speaking in a low hiss.

"I said no." Shepard repeated, this time his declaration coming out as more of a growl

"Spectre Shepard, unless you comply with our orders then the consequences for your daughter will be-" the asari councilor started to say, only for Shepard to cut her off.

"No, for once you are going to listen to me. Since this whole thing started you haven't taken the Cerberus threat seriously. Oh sure, you did assign two spectres to deal with it, only one of whom was on active service at the time. Hell, you didn't even bother sending one of your own ships, instead to borrowed one from the alliance."

The human councilor interjected at this point, anger evident in the man's voice. "Are you insinuating that we-"

Shepard slammed a fist into the edge of console in front of him with such force that if left a small dent in the metal, cutting the man off. "I am not about to risk the safety of the galaxy by refusing help when the council is content to send a single team. I sure as hell don't like it, but i need their help, which means I'm sure as hell not going to stop them."

The expressions of of the three councilor's present twisted into looks of such complete anger and outrage, Shepard half expected steam to start rising from their faces. "Spectre Shepard, if that is your... choice regarding this matter..." The asari replied in a forced calm, failing to completely hide her anger, "...then it looks like we have no choice but to send a team to apprehend your daughter and-"

"You are _**not **_going to lay a finger on my daughter or any of her friends." Shepard stated, in a voice so utterly calm and confident that the councilors acted like they had been struck; falling utterly still and quite in the wake of his declaration.

The human councilor recovered first out of the three. "Do tell, why is that?" the man said through clenched teeth.

"Because if you do anything to her, if you take any action against her, if you so much as touch her; I will come after you. Personally." Shepard replied quietly, never once raising his voice.

You really think you can win a fight against us on your own?" the turian councilor scoffed.

"Probably not, but that hasn't stopped me before. So I warn you again, lay one finger on her and I will drop everything, and turn my full attention to you. Do you really want to take that chance, councilor?" Shepard replied in the same utterly calm tone as before.

"Your bluffing" the turian growled menacingly.

"Try me" Shepard replied, before turning his back and walking away from the holographic projections of the three stunned politicians.

"Shepa-" one of the councilors began to say before the communication was cut.

"Communication cut Shepard" Joker said over the ship's intercoms. "... and um, wow...that was _totally not _scary as all hell."

"I'm not in the mood right now, Joker." The first human spectre replied bluntly. "Just set a course to the coordinates the council transmitted."

"Uhh, okay then. ETA about three and a half hours." the pilot replied before closing the comm channel.

Shepard instantly regretted snapping at the helmsmen, but between the heated disagreement with the councilors and the prospect of having to return to that...that place; he felt it difficult to keep his already raging emotions in check. Leaning against a nearby bulkhead wearily, Shepard collected himself for a moment before heading off to prepare his gear for the coming mission.

**. . . . .**

"Joker, whats our ETA?"

"We will be at the coordinates the council sent us in about in five minutes." Joker replied over the comms, which echoed through the empty cargo-bay.

"Good, make sure to not bring us in too close. I am going to take the shuttle the rest of the way."

"Roger that."

Giving the equipment strewn about the weapon's bench once last check to ensure they were all in working order, the spectre secured them in place. Slipping his helmet over his head with a faint click as it sealed airtight, he made his way over to one of the two Kodiak shuttles docked within the chamber.

As he began to open the shuttle doors, a voice called out to him "Where the hell do you think you're going!"

Leaving the shuttle's doors half open, he turned around to see Garrus, Kaidan, and James, hurrying towards him. All three of the them were wearing armor and were carrying weapons. "Looks like you are getting a but forgetful, Shepard. You forgot to tell any of us about this mission." Garrus continued as he and the two alliance soldiers came to a stop. "One would think you were planning to go off on your own."

"Thats because I _**am**_ going on my own." Shepard replied bluntly, turning his back to the trio. With a shove he pushed the shuttle's doors open fully.

The three exchanged worried looks, unsure of how to produced. Surprisingly, it was James who replied first. "You've done a lot of crazy things Loco, but this is stupid, even for you."

"Ya, maybe we would be fine with sitting this one out if it were something simple like taking down a merc group." Garrus agreed. "I don't see why you feel the need to go by yourself."

Shepard said nothing, keeping his back turned to the turian as he tossed the first bag of equipment inside the now open shuttle.

"It has something to do with that mission you were sent on five year ago, wasn't it." Garrus said bluntly. It wasn't a question.

Shepard froze, a pained look flashed over his face. Everything was utterly silent as Shepard found himself unable to speak, feeling as though his tongue had been turned to lead. With an effort, he forced his mouth to form words, speaking in a low, hollow tone. "I don't want to talk about it Garrus."

"I'm right aren't I? You had to go inside of that _**thing**_, didn't you? Just like you are going to have to do now."

Shepard's grip tightened involuntarily on the bag he held as he squeezed his eyes shut and willed his friend to stop asking questions. "Drop it, Garrus."

"What happened to you there? What was so bad that you won't even talk about it?" Garrus asked, ignoring the warning he had given the turian.

"I said drop it." Shepard repeated a bit more forcefully then before.

"I heard what you said, Shepard. Doesn't mean I had to listen." Garrus growled as anger began to creep into the turian's voice. "Especially when whatever bothering you is clouding your judgment."

"My judgment is fine."

"Yes, because going inside a damned reaper without backup is completely rational and well thought out." the turian retorted.

Shepard turned away from the turian, refusing to meet his friend's concerned gaze. "I told you, this isn't up for debate."

"Shepard, Garrus is right." Kaidan interjected in a concerned tone. "You can't just expect us to let you go off on your own."

Shepard said nothing, ignoring the Alliance soldier's words as he tossed the last bag of equipment into the shuttle.

"Shepard, come on. Don't do something your going to regret." Garrus said as he reached out and put a hand on the spectre's shoulder, his tone growing more concerned.

"Your not going Garrus. Thats final." Shepard stated bluntly, shrugging off the the turian's grip

"You can't ordering me to do anything. We are both spectres Shepard; you don't out rank me, remember." Garrus replied angrily, his voice now raising to a shout. "Besides, I've always followed your lead because I trust you, not because I have to. But I won't follow orders when doing so means letting you go get yourself killed."

"I'm not ordering you to do anything, I'm simply not letting you." he replied, turning to regard the turian for a moment before stepping inside the shuttle. "Sorry Garrus, but this is something I have to deal with on my own." he added with a sad smile before slamming the shuttle's doors shut with a loud clang.

Everything fell silent for several moments before Garrus's voice rose once more, the turians shouting managing to carry into the shuttle. "Fine, go then! You've already made up your mind and nothing I say or do will stop you! I just hope you don't get your self killed, for Tali's sake if anyone's!"

Shepard didn't bother to reply as he took his seat in the pilot's chair and began preparing for take-off. Outside Garrus, Kaidan, and James moved back as the shuttle's thrusters roared to life and the cargo-bay doors crawled open. With one last check of the shuttle's systems, the shuttle shot rose upwards before shooting towards the opening leading to the blackness of space

After the shuttled passed through the mass effect fields keeping the cargo-bay sealed against the vacuum of space even when the doors were open, the spectre breathed a sigh of relief. He knew that any of them would have followed him no matter the risks; of course, they had done so time and time again. But this time... this time he couldn't let them come with him. _This is for their own good, _he told himself, as if doing so would make it any easier. L_et their memories of the Reapers remain just thank, memories of long ago. If by going on my own I can protect my friends, I will do it, even if they hate me for it..._

Shepard piloted the shuttle away from the Normandy. Soon a dark shape began to materialize in the center of his display screen, the shadow corpse that served as a horrible reminder of the greatest threat the galaxy ever faced. A shadowing reminder of the beings that had haunted his dreams, even long after they had been destroyed

**. . . . . **

"...that idiotic, reckless, arrogant, self-righteous, bastard." Garrus growled angrily as the shuttle pulled out of the Normandy's cargo bay. He stood absolutely still, paralyzed by indecision. His eyes darted briefly to glance at the remaining shuttle. His first thought was to take it, go after Shepard, to ensure his friend's safety. But... he knew that doing so could very well just upset Shepard further and make matters worse.

"Garrus, you think we should be follow after him?" Kaidan asked, voicing the turian's own thoughts.

_No, I don't like it, but us going won't help. Not when we are all clueless to how we can even help Shepard..._ Garrus thought to himself. Still, he couldn't just leave thing to chance.

"Get ready to move on a moments notice. If I even get the suspicion that something has happened to Shepard; we are going to save his stubborn ass, whether he likes it or not." Garrus instructed, garnering quick nods from the two humans. Turning away, Garrus started off towards the elevator at the end of the cargo bay

"What are you going to do?" Kaidan called after him.

"To get to the bottom of this." Garrus growled cryptically as the elevator closed behind him. _W__e __**are**__ going to help him, but I need to find out why hes doing this first. _

**. . . . . **

Tali's eyes roamed over the glowing orange holographic display of her omni-tool, searching the readouts of the Normandy's engines for any irregularities. A few days ago she had managed to convince EDI and the ship's other engineers to allow her to access the ship's systems remotely so she could work while she was still on mandatory bed rest.

She knew of course that John would have been upset if he knew that she was working rather then trying to rest; but Tali found it impossible to just sit around and do nothing when she should be correcting irregular fluctuation in the drive core's energy output, optimizing cooling cycles, or any other useful task.

A knock on the cabin's door caught Tali's attention, drawing her gaze away from her omni-tool. "Yes?" she called out.

"Tali, its Garrus." the voice of the turian, muffled from behind the thick steel door, replied. "I am sorry to bother you but... we need to talk."

While she did not detect any urgency in the turian's voice, something in it told her told her that whatever it was, it was important."Uh, okay. Just give me a few minutes, Garrus." Tali answered, pushing off herself out of the the bed's sheets

"Can't whatever you need to do wait until later?" Garrus asked impatiently.

"Garrus, let me put it this way: the conversation would be far less awkward if I was wearing something other then a nightgown." Tali replied dryly, glancing down at the somewhat...revealing gown she was currently wearing as she spoke.

"Oh, right... sorry." Garrus coughed uncomfortably in response.

Rolling her eyes, Tali swung her legs over the side of the bed and pushed herself up to her feet.

Digging through one of the duffel-bags she had brought with her from Rannoch, the quarian retrieved several segments and layers of material that made up an quarian's environmental suit. While she had managed to repair the damage her suit had received a week before, Tali felt safer opting to instead wear the back-up environmental suit she had brought with her rather then trust wholly in the patchwork repairs she had made.

The process of donning her suit took several minutes, but at last she had clamped the last seal into place with a faint hiss. Checking that her mask was secured fully in place, Tali called out Garrus "Okay, you can come in now."

The door opened with a whoosh of air as the turian stormed in, his featured pursed in what Tali recognized as the turian equivalent of a frown. "So, whats this about?" Tali asked, taking a seat on the edge of her bed.

The turian didn't reply at first, throwing himself down onto the couch facing her. "Its about Shepard, he stormed off by himself, going into that damned reaper on his own." Garrus explained, frustration clear in his voice.

"What happened." Tali asked softly, failing to hide her own quickly escalating concern for her lifemate's safety.

Garrus explained everything that happened following finding Shepard in the cargo hold and of what the two had said to one-another during their argument. "I don't know whats bothering him, and I don't like it. Shepard needs my- our help, but I don't know how... how to- "

Tali closed her eyes as her friend finished, sighing deeply before replying. "I was worried John might try to do something stupid and reckless like that, the big bosh'tet. He came up here to talk to me after the meeting with the council, told me where he was going. I tried to get him to talk to me about it, but he refused. I should have said something, but I saw how it pained him, the memories I mean... so I didn't..."

"Its about what happened five years ago isn't it." Garrus stated flatly, repeating the same assertion he had said to Shepard earlier that day. "Its whats bothering him now, has been for some time now."

Tali nodded, somewhat surprised by the astuteness of the turian's guess. Then again, Garrus has always been far more observant and adept at reading people then he ever let on. "It was bad Garrus. Really bad. Shepard isn't afraid of much, you know that. But when he came back from that mission five years ago... it got to him. It opened old wounds"

"The reapers." Garrus stated simply.

"He had to live through it all again, the same horror, the same fear... a reminder of what he had to endure all those years ago and what he was unable to escape." Tali's gaze drooped to the floor as she gathered her thoughts, likely trying to find the best way to phrase it so Shepard didn't come across as a basket case. "He never really got over what he experienced during the Reaper war. He may not shown it, but to this day he is still terrified of them. He sometimes still sees them in his dreams, nightmares really, that havn't gone away even after all this time."

"I always figured Shepard tried to hide how much it effected him from us, probably thought it would protect us and everyone else if we didn't know." Garrus said with a sad smile. "Just like him running off on his own right now is probably some harebrained heroic rational that hes protecting us."

"Thats exactly what it is Garrus. last time he failed, and he wont risk it happening again with all of us there too."

Garrus did not respond, the turian appearing lost in thought as he pondered all that she had said. "What happened?" he asked at last.

"I suppose you deserve to know," Tali said thoughtfully after a period of silence of her own, "though I am not sure where to begin"

* * *

**Authors Note:**First off, I have to give a big thanks to Bahoogasmif for helping me brainstorm and collaborating at several point to help past several writing blocks I ran into while writing this chapter. Dude, without your help this chapter wouldn't have turned out as good as it did.

In other new, I posted the first of the seven planned character biographies last week up on the blog for my account on the Bioware social network. My account there is named "TheWerdna" and it shouldn't be too hard to find the character bio if you are interested in that. The next one will be posted some time next week end, and the others will follow every other week from that (on weeks where I do not post a chapter.


	22. Chapter 22: Whispers of a Dead God

_4/29/2210_

"Well, I guess the whole thing started when the council contacted Shepard about five years ago with another mission." Tali began, speaking slowly and thoughtfully so she could ensure she didn't miss anything. "In the few years previous, Shepard had been assigned to several missions: however, most these were fairly minor. Consulting with other spectres who needed his knowledge for an assignment, or taking down dangerous merc groups, that sort of thing."

"Ya, I've had to do a lot of that...sort of thing. You wouldn't think most spectre assignments tend to be so mundane most of the time." Garrus noted.

"Yes, John said much the same thing once ... but anyways, right away I knew this was different somehow. The way he reacted when he got that call..." Tali trailed off into silence, what she has been going to say lost in her throat as she remembered the worried look in her lifemate's eyes as he had read the report the council had sent him, and then his odd insistence that she remain outside while he talked to the council.

"Did you find out anything at the time? Or did Shepard decide to not tell you anything until he got back?" Garrus asked.

"No, he didn't tell me anything at the time, though I wasn't left completely in the dark since I... sorta spied on him while he spoke to the council. I heard most of the mission brief the council gave him, and what I didn't find out then, he told me later on." Tali explained softly. "I don't think he knew I had listened in on him at the time, I told him later on of course. But still, what I heard scared me... I always felt a little scared whenever he left on spectre business, but this one had me_ very _worried. It was only after that I realized... realized how..."

"... how right you were." Garrus finished for her as her own words trailed off.

"Exactly" Tali replied, her voice was heavy as her mind's eye saw again how her lifemate had looked the day he returned. The dozen freshly bandaged wounds, the empty eyes that seemed to have lost their normal shine.

"So, what did you overhear?" Garrus asked, the turian's question snapping her back to reality.

"I started listening just as the council began to explain that John was to investigate a large number of attacks that had been occurring on small, isolated colonies." Tali explained, trying to remember everything she had overheard the council said those five years. "From what they said these attacks mainly targeted small settlements, taking place weeks or even months apart over the course of several years. On the surface it appeared to just be slavers, with anyone not killed being carried off."

"That doesn't seem all that odd or of great importance, all things considering. At least, not enough so that a spectre would be asked to look into it." Garrus noted thoughtfully, posing his statement as a prompt for her to continue. Clearly the turian knew that there was more to this then that simple example.

"John said much the same thing to the council, though far more sarcastically then you did." Tali replied, a small smile creeping into her voice. "Apparently the council had thought the same thing at first too, but as the attacks became more frequent they began to see there was something odd about them."

"Odd in what way?" Garrus asked with a from

"Like how nothing of value was taken from any of the colonies, even when it would've been trivial to do so. Have you ever heard of a slaver band not looting the settlements they hit?" Tali answered, letting the question hang in the air before continuing on. "Or how people investigating this early on found no trace of any single one of the missing colonists after they were taken. It was as if they disappeared off the face of the galaxy after they had been abducted."

"Was Shepard the first one the council sent themselves to look into it?"

"No" the quarian answered, shaking her head. "As mostly alliance settlements were hit, they sent a few teams to look into it; but they found nothing that could lead them to those responsible. As far as it seemed, those behind this attack appeared out of nowhere before vanishing without a trace. The only thing they turned up was the slaver's ship was never picked up on long range sensors, and it was this this information that had gotten the council interested."

Tali glanced up at the turian, who nodded silently for her to continue. "Though John wasn't the first one the council asked to look into this. Apparently another spectre had been assigned to the mission several months previously... but the council lost contact with her several weeks before they turned to John for help." She explained solemnly, before adding with a weary sigh "I think they really wanted him to discover the fate of the missing spectre as much as to deal with the attacks."

Silence fell over them as Tali finished. Her gaze falling upon her friend's face, Tali saw that Garrus appeared thoughtful as he considered what she had said. "Damn" The turian muttered with a shake of his head, breaking the silence at last. "I never heard what that mission was about, it was top secret, even from other spectre. Though I did hear rumors. I didn't put much credence behind them at the time...maybe I should have."

"Garrus, there was no way you could have found out... it is I who should have done something, anything. I should' have confronted John, made him let me come with him, made him let me help. But, I didn't, despite all my concern."

"You think you could have made a difference being there?

"I don't know, but I should have tried." Tali snapped, frustration and helplessness creeping into her voice. "You didn't see him when he got back Garrus. It was like how he was after the reapers attacked Thessia; or after the crucible fired, when he thought that EDI and all the geth had died at his hands. That same pain, that some look of despair and hopelessness..."

Garrus nodded slowly,"I understand what you mean, Tali. Or, I can imagine at least. Shepard is a brother to me, but I imagine seeing him like that...even I couldn't really understand it.

Tali said nothing either for a time, turning her head to gaze into the fish tank that lined one wall of the cabin. "I-I'm sorry, we should be focusing on what happened then, that way you can help me figure out how to help that stubborn bosh'tet." She replied at last, forcing a smile as he blinked away the tears that had formed at the corner of her eyes.

"Damn right. So in that case, I would like to know how did Shepard get from investigating some abducted colonists and a missing Spectre to find a damn Reaper corpse." Garrus asked, giving her a small, reassuring "smile" as he spoke.

"There's not enough time to tell you to whole thing, at least not now. But I can give you the short version the best I can remember it..."

**. . . . .**

The dark shadow of the dead reaper drifted ominously through the gloom, his shuttle zooming towards the small opening he knew scarred the side of the dead machine. With unnatural silence the shuttle passed through the ships still active mass effect field and slipped inside, touching down with a soft, echoing _clang_ that seemed to linger far longer then it should have.

Flipping a switch that would lock the landing gear into place, Shepard pushed himself to up from the pilot's chair. Making his way to the back of the shuttle, he opened one of the bags he had stowed there, retrieving a handful and grenades, spare thermal clips, stimulant packs, and tubes of medi-gel, clicking this items into place at his belt and along a bandolier he had slung over the front of his armor.

Standing once more, Shepard turned towards the shuttle's doors as he prepared to disembark. Reaching out toward the door, he found that his hand was shaking. Pausing with a grimace, he forced his hand to hold still before grabbing hold of the handle and threw the shuttle open.

A cavernous and lifeless chamber spread out before him, nothing warm or wholesome marring the midnight blue metal and inky black cables that ran along the floors and walls. The whole ship seemed quiet, but not the quiet of something dead. Rather the quiet of something holding its breath.

Off to one side he caught sight of two shuttles sporting the all too familiar Cerberus logo, appearing empty with no sign of any inhabitants. _Well, at least i know who got here first... Can't say I'm surprised. _

There was no sign of movement within the dark tomb-like space that enveloped him in its confined and oppressive structure. The walls seemed to loom in ever closer around him the longer he stared, as if the innards of the dead monstrosity were actually shifting to entrap him.

Fearing that if he stood there any longer he would never find the will to move, Shepard summoned up his courage and cautiously stepped down from the shuttle.

A deep groaning echoed throughout the chamber the moment his feet hit the smooth black surface, the sound reminded him of a building dangerously close to collapsing. Startled, Shepard staggered back a step, nearly falling backwards against the shuttle as he raised gun. His heart pounded and droplets of sweat beaded on his forehead as his eyes darted frantically, searching for the unseen attackers he _knew_ were there.

Unbidden memories flashed before him, the spectre recalling flashes of that horrible day just five years before.

"_Spread out, keep watch for hostiles" Shepard ordered the twelve alliance soldiers accompanying him as they existed the shuttle. _

_The former commander caught nervous and frightened looks from many of them as they began to spread out throughout the room. He wasn't surprised by their blatant fear and apprehension,nor could he blame them: most of the marines must have only been ten, eleven, or so during the reaper war and and likely had to suffer through the horrors the Reapers had brought._

_He himself found it difficult to keep his own fear in check as he gazed at the dark and twisted shapes that loomed around him. It reminded him of the derelict reaper he had ventured into so very long ago. He remembered the cold fear that had gripped him during that occasion and many other encounters with the monstrous machines, fear he could not easily shake._

_But he couldn't let fear stop him now, not when he had a mission to focus on. Swallowing his fear, Shepard turned his attention the accompanying him."We don't know what these bastards want with the captured colonists, but I as hell am not about to let them continue. Assuming they are still alive, out first priority is to rescue them, understood?" Shepard barked, eliciting an assortment of "yes sir"s from the assembled marines._

"_You three are to to stay here to guard the shuttle and make sure we have a way off this damned place once this is through" he continued, gesturing at the three men in question as he spoke. He thought their names were Gerson, Parker, and Andes: though he couldn't be sure _as _he had not had much time to learn their names on the short trip here__. "The rest of you are with me."_

_He was __met by another chorus of affirmations, but it was obvious that it was his presence alone that kept them from bolting.__ Trying to exude confidence, he nodded and turned to an opening at the far end of the chamber, motioning for the marines who were going with to follow him. As he descended into the darkness he found that he could not shake a strange sense of foreboding and dread that seemed to grow with every step..._

The deep groaning slowly faded into nothingness and silence once more enveloped the lone spectre in its lifeless grasp. Still shaking from the unbidden memories, Shepard slowly lowed his weapon partway down, squeezing his eyes shut as he breathed heavily. _Dammit Shepard, your over reacting. This thing is dead, it can't hurt you. Its dead... its dead... _he told himself over and over

Taking a deep breath to calm his racing heart and push aside his building fear, Shepard forced his eyes open. _You need to focus, soldier! Remember the mission!,_ a commanding voice echoed through his thoughts.

His heart calming to something that resembled a normal speed, Shepard raised his gun once more and started forward, preparing the venture deep into the bowels of the dead machine.

**. . . . .**

"After he left, John spent the next three months investigating the attacks on the colonists and the disappearance of the previous spectre assigned to the mission. From what he told me later on, this mostly involved going to the settlements that had been attacked, by which point could have been months or even years later, to find out anything he could about the attack." Tali explained.

"Sounds like it was tedious" Garrus noted dryly.

"According to John it was, and unfortunately it yielded very little. The trail was too cold in most places, and even when he managed to get to the site of one of the attacks less then a day after it happened he was unable to find anything that could help him." The quarian mechanic agreed. "Once that began to fall through, I believe he began focusing more on the missing Spectre. John told me that he'd suspected since the beginning that she'd been on to something before she vanished. He decided that if he could follow her trail might get him closer to finding those responsible for the attacks then if he acted on his own."

"So what did he do? obviously _something_ worked."

"Well, he knew right away that he did not have the investigation skills to track the activities of another spectre; especially one that had been acting with the utmost secrecy before disappearing. So, he went to Liara for help."

"Does Liara know what happened then?" Garrus asked.

"About the events of those three months he spent traipsing around the galaxy on this damn mission? Certainly. About what happened on the damn reaper itself? I am not sure. John never talked to her about it, but it is possible Liara was able to find out on her own, she is the shadow broker after all." Tali replied with a shrug.

"I guess it doesn't matter now anyways" Garrus sighed. "I take it that this finally lead actually went somewhere?"

She dipped her head in affirmation. "With Liara's resources Shepard was able to discover that the spectre had been looking for any inconsistencies in the supply shipments between nearby planets in the vicinity of the attacks. It appeared that she had suspected that the only way the group abducting the colonists could remain secret for this long would by hiding in a very isolated region between raids..."

"-And since you said nothing was being looted in the attacks, then they would need to be getting their supplies from somewhere else. " Garrus said, finishing the thought for her."

"Exactly. Following up on this lead, John was eventually able to find that there was a smuggling operation running under the guise of a lodgement shipping business that had been contracted to send food and supplies to an uninhabited planet in the Maroon Sea cluster. I believe the place is less then three hour's travel in FTL from where the Reaper corpse was." Tali answered. "While this of course, could have easily been completely unrelated to the attacks, it was possibly the first concrete lead he'd had, so John set out on his own for the planet at once."

"By himself?" Garrus asked, his eyes widening in surprise.

"Yes. For most the mission John traveled alone. The council had given him a small scout ship with FTL capabilities to use for the mission, as that way he could keep a lower profile then if he had gone with a full crew."

Garrus nodded slowly in acceptance of her explanation; falling silent in invitation for her to continue.

**. . . . .**

Darkness surrounded Shepard has he went further into the twisting passages that catacombed the colossal machine. The only noise that could be heard were the soft _thumps_ of his own footsteps, which seemed to echo on for longer then they should.

As he walked he began to see a faint light ahead of him, appearing white compared to the blackness around him. _Well, either thats the way out of this god forsaken maze, or I somehow died... again, and thats the light at the end of the tunnel. __Then again, I don't remember there being a light the last time..._

Moving towards the glow, he found himself standing in a long oval shaped chamber. Old crates filled with supplies lay stacked around him, illuminated by a handful of lights that were still functional. The rest appeared nonfunctional, some clearly showed signs of fighting, bullet holes and other signs of having been too near a firefight. Others simply appeared to have simply failed due to the passage of time. The outer edge of the room was lined with alcoves wrapped in shadows that the few dim lights could not pierce.

Cautiously Shepard moved farther inward, stopping as he noticed the floor was marred by the unmistakable dark-brown stains of dried blood. As he gazed at the blood he saw again when those stains had been crimson and fresh, the air filled with the metallic scent of blood and the screams of dying men...

_With one last burst of his rifle the final crazed attacker fell with a gurgling yelp, blood spraying from the man's throat. Lowering his weapon, Shepard turned away from the vanquished foe and began the survey the carnage spread out before him._

_He and his team had come under attack suddenly and __and without warning, a group of about twenty or so slavers leapt out from the shadows to attack them.__ Even as he and the other marines had taken cover, the slavers kept rushing forward, showing no signs of concern for their own self preservation. They came at his team again and again with reckless abandon, leaving themselves wide open if it meant getting off an attack; seemingly only caring about wounding or killing the intruders even though they would certainly die in the attempt._

_The slavers actions unnerved the spectre, __a feeling that only grew the more he considered it.__ Were they simply zealots? Men utterly insane and dedicated to whatever cause they followed?... Could they have been... no, no, the Reaper is dead, all of them are. He reminded himself quickly._

_He shuddered as he looked down at the crumbled form of one of the attackers, remembering how that same attacker had grabbed hold of him and tried to pull him out into the open, and of the sickening crunch the slaver's neck had made when he had snapped it with his bare hands._

_Tuning his attention away from the dead slavers, Shepard grimaced as his gaze fell on the unmoving forms of the two casualties his team had sustained in that firefight. The first was a private by the name of Wilson, who had been cut down within the first seconds of the assault. The other casualty had been a Corporal whose name Shepard had never learned, the marine having been stabbed in the throat by one of the two of the slavers that had rushed her; even as the crazed man fell bleeding out himself._

_Shepard forced himself to look away from the fallen marines, lest the guilt of their deaths continue to press on him. He couldn't change the fact that they had died, he told himself; all he could do now is ensure they hadn't died for nothing..._

Shepard bent down and touched one of the stained patches, the thin layer of dried blood cracking and flaking away at his touch. _At least now I know where I am. H_e thought solemnly as he stood and glanced around the chamber once more.

Besides the way he came in, there were three other passageways leading off from the cavernous space he now stood. For several moments he wracked his memory for any clue that could tell him which of the paths he had taken before. _Funny how I can perfectly recall all the things I would rather forget; but can't remember anything useful_, he though to himself.

Scowling the spectre gave up his attempt to recall the correct path, and picked one of the passages without thinking about it. Hopefully his instincts and a bit of luck would succeed where his already clouded thoughts could not.

**. . . . .**

"Arriving at the coordinates he had gotten from the smugglers, John discovered a small outpost on the planet, with only a dozen or so occupants. " Tali explained, trying to recall her own memories of when she herself had been hearing about this event. "He killed most of them in the following fight, though he left three alive for questioning."

Tali bit her lip as she searched her memory, finding it difficult to recall what John had said about this leg of the mission. "After making sure the surviving slavers weren't going anywhere, he then moved on to search the outpost. In doing so discovering that it appeared to be a drop off point for the supplies before they were taken elsewhere, along with finding the body of the missing spectre. Finding nothing else, he had no real choice but to interrogate the men he had taken captive."

"I imagine he must have hated that part" Garrus commented grimly. "Shepard always disliked that sort of thing, more so then most anyways."

"Yes, I think he had hoped to find what he needed in the base..." the mechanic answered softly, trailing off before continuing the retelling of that mission. "By his own words it was a long and brutal interrogation, none of the captured men willing to tell him anything. He was forced in the end to use force rather then threats, which finally got information out of them."

The quarian engineer turned her gaze downward. "He discovered that they were members of a small slaver group that had been contacted three years previous by a man known as Doctor Trenton Centrich, offering them large sums of cash and promising to outfit them with advanced tech if they agreed to bring him live captives for use in experimentation."

His brow plates shifted to convey a frown at her words, and his eyes narrowed as though he were trying to recall something. "I have heard that name before somewhere."

"You may have. He was one of the high ranking Cerberus scientists who was never captured after the Reaper war." She explained, frowning behind her mask. "From what the slavers had said, he had outfitted them with more advanced weaponry. These included schematics and the resources needed to augment their ship with stealth capabilities, which explained why they were never detected on long range scanner."

Tali sighed sadly. "None of the slavers would say what the captive colonists were being used for. John said he thought that they were more afraid of something else then they were his threats. But he was able to force the location of their base of operation, the reaper corpse floating out at the edge of the Maroon Sea cluster... where we are now..."

She let the statement hang in the air for a moment before continuing. "From what we can tell this Reaper was killed when the crucible fired, and was never discovered due to its location far away from any star system. How Centrich managed to find out about it is anyone's guess."

"If one of their scientists were involved, don't you think it's possible Cerberus was behind it?"Garrus asked once she had finished, her friend's expression grim as he considered that prospect.

She considered this question for a moment, before shaking her head. "Its possible, but no, I don't think so. Everything John learned from the interrogation and what he found inside Centrich's lab says that he was working on his own. It is likely that he wasn't aware that Cerberus had survived... though no one ever did find out what he had been doing until eight years ago, nor where he had gotten all his resources to pay the slavers..."

"I guess now it doesn't matter either way." Garrus shrugged, to which she replied is a small nod of her head.

"Well,... as soon as John learned where the base was, he reported it to the council; knowing that he would need back up before he could go after the remaining slavers and the Doctor... and hopefully rescue any of the captives, assuming they were still alive. As most of the colonies attacked were human, the few alliance officials who were aware of the mission, not to mention the human councilor, insisted that a team of alliance marines were to accompany him."

"I would have thought Shepard would have insisted he go alone, not wanting to put anyone else at risk." Garrus noted with a front. "Just like the stubborn idiot is doing right now.'

Tali shook her head. "He probably would have preferred to go alone, but I think John understood that he would need backup if her were to survive it."

"I see... how many were on the team" The turian replied, trailing off to let out a frustrated sigh before asking his next question.

"Twelve marines, plus John." Tali answered. "It took three days before they could set out, mostly due to preparation on the marine's part. Once they had arrived though...they set out for that damned reaper. They had no idea what they would find there, scouting was impossible due to how isolated it was, and , well, the only way to find out what was inside was go there themselves..."

Tali trailed off, shuddering as she recalled what John had said to her about those horrible hours inside the dead reaper. A single tear dripped down the quarian's cheek as she knew what her lifemate must be going through even now, having to relive those experiences, and how her injuries meant that she could not be at his side.

Despite her mask, her expression must have been all to easy for Garrus to read. "Tali, "I know it's hard having to remember what he went through, but I need to know."

"I know..." she assured him in a faint whisper. Considering her next words carfully, she continue in what she hoped was a more confident tone."You have been his friend for as long as I have known him, as you have been mine. We owe you that much at least." Closing her eyes as he worked up the nerve to continue the telling of John's experiences within the dark depths of the dead reaper.

**. . . . .**

Rounding a corner, Shepard came to an abrupt stop. A wall of gray metal blocked his path, it stood in stark contrast to the inky black material of the Reaper. As he approached there was a faint click and light flashed on, nearly blinding him with its intensity compared to the darkness behind him. Squinting, he saw that the light shone down from somewhere near the top of man made structure.

As his eyes slowly became adjusted to the piercing glow, Shepard saw that there was a circular airlock in the center of what he had initially taken for a unbroken wall. In the center a faded golden Cerberus logo could be seen against the smooth white metal. _Well, __Cerberus never did know how to be subtle, or former Cerberus in this _case, Shepard thought to himself, remembering when he had come across the airlock the first time._ On the bright side I know I am on the right track._

Recalling what he needed from his last visit, Shepard quickly found the door's control panel. Finding it he reached out and tapped one of the keys, and was rewarded with a series of clicks and a a faint hiss of air as the airlock slid open.

A blood splattered body fell toward him, landing against the surprised spectre. With a yelp of surprise, and Shepard frantically shoved the corpse off of him. Panic taking hold of him, he stumbled away from the door, his heart attempting to beat its way out of his chest.

_Shepard's heart sunk as he surveyed the carnage before him. Three more of the alliance marines lay dead, their cold lifeless eyes staring at him accusingly. Averting his gaze, he looked on to where the one of the five remaining soldiers tended to two others who had been grievously wounded during the fight, applying medi-gel to stanch the blood gushing from deep stab wounds._

_They had managed to catch another group of slavers unawares, he and the soldiers with him unleashing a hellish assault that by all rights should have cut the bastards down within seconds. But then slavers had not died like they should have, staying on their feet even when pierced by numerous rounds. They seemed to not even be aware of the wounds they had sustained, throwing themselves at his team with a madness beyond even those he had previously encountered in this godforsaken place. _

_They had quickly overwhelmed several of the marines who had been the closest to the attackers, tearing, clawing, smashing those they surrounded with either knives or their bare hands. _

_Turning away from the sea of corpses, Shepard started towards the remaining men, coming to a stop as pain lanced up his side. The hand he put against it came away glistening with blood. He remembered how one of the slavers, a batarian wielding a bladed gauntlet, had lunged at him even while bleeding from a dozen wounds. He had managed to twist to the side at the last moment and decapitated the alien with a swipe of his omni-blade. The spectre hadn't even noticed that the attack had connected..._

Shepard's hands shook as he struggled to force aside the twisted memories that frantically tore through his mind. _Whats wrong with me? What the hell is wrong with me?_ he thought, putting a hand against a wall to steady himself. _I shouldn't be acting like this. A soldier, a spectre, shouldn't be cowering like a frightened child. I__'m Commander Shepard goddammit! This is nothing compared to the horrors I've faced in the Reaper war." _

He told himself this over and over again, willing his body to stop shaking and do as he commanded. Pushing away from the wall, he staggered closer to the unmoving body that had fallen against him moments before. Steeling himself, he knelt down to take a closer look.

Examining the corpse closer, he saw that the man appeared to have been a Cerberus soldier, his white and gold armor covered in so much gore that it had taken a moment for him to tell what its original color had been. The Cerberus soldier looked even worse than most if that was possible, the mans helmet was torn off and thrown to the side, his eyes had the glow of most Cerberus soldiers, but his entire face was gashed in various streaks of blood and gore as if by claws.

His thick armor was even gouged deeply in places, making whatever did this need to be immensely strong. The deepest and most gruesome claw marks ran down the length of his back, appearing to have tried to flee from his attacker only to fall against the airlock as he had desperately tried to escape.

Moving his gaze up from the dead trooper and through the now open airlock, he saw that three more bodies sporting similar wounds lay scattered about the room beyond. The metallic scent of blood wafted from the crimson smears that covered much of the room and pooled around the corpses.

One by one, Shepard examined the corpses, finding nothing that stood out from the others. That fact that no sign of what had attacked the soldiers meant that they had likely been caught completely unaware, becoming overwhelmed and surrounded without being able to fire off a single shot.

Sighing Shepard gave up the search as it became obvious he would find little here. _Well, time to go a little deeper. I should be glad that I probably don;t need to worry about the Cerberus agents anymore, grim as it may be...__ Still I need to know what they were after, and deal with the remaining threat posed by this place._ With that grim thought Shepard set out deeper into the abandoned labs.

**. . . . .**

Tali was utterly silent for several moments as she sat there in the gloom, until she at last opened her luminous eyes and took a deep, purposeful breath. "From what John told me... from what he said everything appeared to be going fine at first. They met no resistance as their ship approached, nor when they landed inside the reaper itself."

Tali took a short paused, then after seeing that no comment was forthcoming, continued. "Of the twelve marines, ten went with John while the remaining two were left behind to guard the shuttles. John says they went deeper and deeper inside, nearly half an hour passing before they met any resistance."

Garrus nodded slower, appearing unsure if he should speak or not. Inwardly, Tali was glad he didn't speak, feeling that if she stopped speaking now it would be impossible to continue.

"At first the only resistance they met were the slavers" Tali explained "Two groups, each twenty or more strong ambushed John's group. Between those fights he lost five members of his team... but despite losing nearly half the team he kept going..."

"How did trained marines with Shepard's help lose so many against some damn slavers?" Garrus asked, frowning. "Even if they outnumbered them and caught them off guard, they shouldn't have done that well."

Tali shook her head. "They weren't normal slavers, at least, not then. John says they came at his team like madmen, caring nothing for their own well being, nor feeling any pain. How or why, he never found out... though he suspected that they must have been implanted with reaper tech at some point."

"Damn..." Garrus muttered, shaking his head.. "It gets worse though, doesn't it?" he asked grimly

"Yes..." Tali answered. Memories of her lifemate's face as he had reached this point, as the bravest man she had ever known features were filled with overwhelming fear and despair as he had recounted those final experiences. "...continuing, he and the remaining marines finally made it to Centrich's lab at the heart of the dead reaper. There they discovered the fate of the missing colonists. He had been continuing the work he had done for Cerberus, experimenting with the implant of reaper tech."

Tali fell silent, shuddering at the thought. "He had turned them into monsters, Garrus. They were somewhere between husks and living people...and he had control over them. He released them on John's team. He lost three more marines to those things, torn apart before his eyes as he watched, as he wasn't able to save them."

She shut her eyes, trying to hold back the tears as she imagined the pain her love must have felt watching them die, and how must have blamed himself for not being able to save them. "He lost it then, overwhelmed by the single desire to make Centrich pay, to kill the monster who had done this."

"He ordered the last two marines to go back to the shuttles, and told them that if he didn't come back in three hours to leave and report back what had happened." Tali continued sadly. "He didn't make it very far before he was swarmed by more husks. While struggling against three "husks" that grabbed him, he fell off the platform, sending him down into sections that none of the slavers, or even doctor Centrich had gone before."

Garrus' eyes widened, his usual calm visage ruined by his utter surprise. "How the hell did he manage to get his way out of that mess?"

Tali shrugged, at a loss herself. "He still isn't sure himself. From what he said, he couldn't remember much after that. He had hit his head when he fell, and that, coupled with his many other injuries and exhaustion made everything a blur of pain as he dragged himself onward."

The quarian engineer trailed off, her voice becoming hollow "... and what little he did remember he wouldn't go into detail about. All John said was that eventually he found a away up from the depths of the reaper and into the chamber containing its drive core. It was here that Centrich had set up his personal chamber, and was distracted with an experiment when John came upon him."

Tali turned her gaze away as she continued on, "He didn't bother to question him, nor try to bring him back alive. After all that had happened that day, John just shot him in the back of the head. He died without ever knowing that John had entered the room."

""I can't say i blame him." Garrus grimaced with a slow shake of his head.

"He regretted it afterwards Garrus, I know that much. Not so much the fact he kill the man, but that he executed him from the back like an assassin." Tali answered sadly, before continuing on "After checking to make sure Centrich was dead, he spent few minutes searching through the scientist's belongings, making sure to take several OSDs he had stored research data on, and then just...left."

"So he killed the bad guy, took his stuff, and limped out... sounds like Shepard alright." Garrus leaned back in his seat, but he didn't look very amused.

"By the time he dragged himself back to the shuttles, just under three hours having passed since he had went on alone. By that point John was barely conscious and bleeding from dozens of cuts, some of them critical." Tali said, concluding her story. "Of the four marines who had been waiting back at the shuttle, one had been killed when a number of Doctor Centrich's victims had attacked them. In the end, I guess the mission was a success. It just cost nine lives to do it..."

No one spoke as Tali finished, the room plunging into utter quite. The faint bubbling of the fishtank and their own soft breathing were the only sounds that could be heard. Finally Garrus broke the quiet, "Damn...just damn. " Garrus muttered, shaking his head slowly. "When you told me that a one of the reasons this had effected Shepard was that it brought back all his memories of the Reaper war, I figured that what had happened couldn't be that bad on its own..."

She nodded slowly, still not looking up at the turian. "He was a mess for weeks after he came back... and not just physically. He barely ate or slept, and spent most of his time alone. At first he wouldn't talk about what had happened, and it took everything I had to finally convince him to tell me what I just told you."

"You know that he was probably just trying to protect you" Garrus assured her, speaking softly. "He always keeps more secrets from those he trusts."

"I know...but, thank you" Tali answered softly, a small smile creeping across her lips as he raising her head so that her eyes met her friend's gaze. "So what now?"

"Now?" Garrus said, sighing wearily. "Now I need to figure out how to help Shepard understand that he can't keep trying to protect us while hurting himself. If we don't hear from him soon, I'm going to take the other shuttle to make sure his stubborn ass gets out of there in one piece, whether he likes it or not. After that... I don't know" the turian ended, at a loss.

Tali dipped her head in acceptance of his words, finding herself at a loss as well. Once more they sat together in silence, both silently contemplating how they could help the man who had done so much for them. _Please John, my saera, come back in one piece._

**. . . . .**

As quietly as possible, Shepard stepped into the large open chamber, his rifle held up in a firing position. For the past twenty odd minutes Shepard had searched through the rooms that had once served as the labs where brutal experiments had been conducted. So far he had found no other sign of activity or anything out of ordinary until he had approached one of the larger chambers, from which he could smell the faint metallic scent of freshly spilled blood.

Looking inside, it didn't take long to find the source. The bodies of eight more Cerberus agents lay scattered around the room, sporting wounds much like those he had discovered before. Blood splattered the room, covering the floor and even staining some of the lab stations and large metal cages that lined the sides of the room. Like before there was no sign of the attackers but for the mutilated victims left in their wake.

Moving deeper into the room, one of the corpses caught his attention. Unlike the others, this Cerberus agent worse heavier and more ornate armor that marked him as a centurion; likely meaning he had been the group's leader. Kneeling down, Shepard examined the body _Maybe I can find something useful... hmmm, if I recall most Cerberus soldier's helmets sometimes record audio as a sort of black box. Maybe that can tell me something._

Carefully Shepard removed the centurion's helmet, careful to avoid looking into the corpses' cold, dead, eyes. Activating his omni-tool he accessed the audio files contained within, his delight at discovering that they were indeed there fading to dread as he noticed that the time stamp was just over two hours before.

Hesitating for just a moment, he activated the recording.

"_Sir we have not had contact with Squad-Theta in over an hour." A muffled voice said, clearly to the centurion whose recording Shepard was listening too_

"_Damnit, that's the third scouting party we've lost in under 20 minutes!__" the centurion cursed, followed by a thud as the man evidently struck one of the tables._

"_Should we retreat to the shuttle and wait for backup?" A third voice asked, fear clear despite the muted and muffled tone he spoke in._

"_Negative, we cannot afford anymore setbacks. We need to recover the tech and get out of here before the council sends a team to investigate. I want those men found quickly, and that an-" __The centurion stopped midsentece as a chorus of growls echoed through the recording. _

"_What the hell was-" a fourth Cerberus agent began, only to be drown out by an echoing screech._

_More screeches echoed out, soon being met by frantic gunfire and t__errified screams of panic and later, pain, before the tape fell silent. _

Shepard dropped the tape, his heart pounding. He had heard those screeches before, sSo similar to husks yet so very different. The world seemed to fade away as memories flashed before him once more.

_They were too late... all too late..._

_Shepard squeezed his eyes shut as he tried to block out the horror he had just endured, not wanting to see the gory reminder of the battle he had just fought. _

_After entering into the labs, Shepard and his remaining team had discovered to the their horror what had become of the captured colonists. They had been taken as test subjects, implanted with reaper tech against their will that twisted them into monstrous forms. They had become something that was neither mindless husks nor human, but rather something in between. _

_But the worst part, worse then the cybernetics __protruding__ from open wounds that oozed blood and twisted deformed appearances, was their eyes. Eyes filled with utter agony caused by their ruined and mutilated bodies. Eyes that showed awareness of what they were doing, of what they had become; but were powerless to control their actions._

_The former colonists had contained in cages at first, but suddenly all the cages opened at once, unleashing the abominations upon himself and his team. The team's tech expert had been the first to fall: torn limb for limb without even being able to get off a single shot. _

_Seeing that they would quickly become overwhelmed, Shepard had _c_alled for the terrified marines to withdraw and regroup. __As they fell back, another marine, a biotic by the name of Harris, was grabbed by a swarm of the former colonists. The man still alive even as he was being torn apart: Shepard had found himself with no other choice but to toss his last grenade into the swarm, killing a dozen of the abominations and putting the biotic out of his misery_

_After this he and his remaining team had turned to engage the remaining husk-creatures, somehow managing to kill the seemingly endless swarm that came at them again and again. Only he and two of the marines, another having died when a husk had leapt on her and bitten out her throat._

_He had no choice now, it was too late to save the them.. All he could do was find the monster behind this and make him pay..._

_Centrich would pay for this... he would pay..._

Shepard stumbled away from the body, spinning around as he wildly searched for the attack he was convinced was about the fall upon him. The screech from the recording echoed the chamber, reverberating and warping as it slowly faded into silence.

_Its a recording dammit! If you did hear something coming you would know!_ He scolded himself for reacting so irrationally. _Then again, those poor Cerberus bastards probably thought the same thing..._

Searching to room for anything else he had missed, his eyes fell upon a strange object sitting on one of the lab stations at the far end of the room. It was oval in shape and its smooth black surface shimmered in the dim light like polished obsidian. Four inky black cables ran from points equally spaced along its diameter, dangling down around the pedestal-like base it sat on.

_Odd, I didn't notice that a few minutes ago. _Shepard noted warily as he cautiously made his way towards the device. As he got closer, the urge to keep going grew almost overpowering. Why, he could not place, but it was almost as if someone else was dictating his actions at the moment. He knew that doing so was stupid and that he under no circumstances should interact with it, but it seemed almost as if another person were thinking those things, while his body kept getting closer.

Walking slowly Shepard extended a hand towards it, inching closer and closer every second. _What are you doing! Control yourself, this is reaper tech. Who knows what it will do to you. _A faint, barely noticeable voice inside his head cautioned.

His hand came to a halt suddenly, now only two inches away from the object's surface. His hand shook as he fought to keep himself from moving, to fight back against the insane commands his body seemed to be obeying.

For a moment he though he had succeeded, then suddenly his hand shot forward another inch before he could stop himself.

Black, void-like sparks flew out from the device as he fingers came within inch of its surface. He was met by a horrible high pitched humming that stabbed at his ears. He pulled his hand away with a jolt, taking a step back and away as control over his body returned as suddenly as it had left.

With a crack of thunderous noise, a wave of energy rolled out from the device. The lights scattered around the room detonating in bursts of sparks as the wave passed, plunging the room into utter dark. As the wave rolled over him Shepard's vision blurred and he fell to his hand and knees,

_Get up, get up! _a voice in his head screamed, desperately urging him to move. Groaning, Shepard forced his eyes open and raised his head. Suddenly a dozen growling and screeching sounds rose up all around him, filling the spectre with dread. In the dark, shapes began to materialize. First, only a handful, but quickly becoming dozens of lifeless glowing blue eyes that hungered for his death.

* * *

**Author's Note:** Well, after two hours of writing each day for nine days, I have completed what is by far the longest chapter thus far. I guess that means I accomplished something, besides overworking my best reader.

So now you know the story of the events taking place before my story that I kept hinting at every five seconds. Hope it met expectations. Also, yes I know, I am evil for leaving you with that *evil grin*


	23. Chapter 23: Frozen Shadows

4/29/2210

With a barely detectable burst of light and heat the Invisible dropped out of FTL, gracefully slowing as its stealth systems came online. Its pitch-black hull all but invisible against the void of empty space, the ship glided through space like a ghost as it shot towards the dark, frozen world that was its destination.

Inside the ship Ria watched the view screen as the ship glided towards the planet's barely visible silhouette against the dim light cast by the system's white dwarf. Even these far off glimpses of the dark and frozen world that was their destination made the place feel lifeless and unwelcoming.

Ir had taken three days to determine the location of the ruined prothean research facility that they sought, due in part to the data from Doctor Lenand not giving a clear indication of where exactly the ruins had been located. After three days of comparing the information they had to known star systems, not to mention a great deal of guess work, Core had discovered a world in the correct region that perfectly matched what they had been given.

Even so, Ria remained doubtful; a feeling that had grown once she had seen how inhospitable the planet had seemed. "Are we sure this is the right place?" the young quarian frowned as she watched the icy black sphere grow ever larger in the window.

"If the data we acquired is accurate, then this is the correct location of the ruins... with a 97.647% certainty. This is the only known star system in the correct region that matches what data we have." The geth replied, sounding almost indigent at the quarian's suggestion that "his" analysis had been incorrect.

"Right, sorry." Ria sighed wearily "I guess I just don't like the idea of having to go to yet another frozen rock this soon after Noveria. Now that I think about it, at least the places we went to on Noveria had central heating, while here the ruins are going to be just as cold as outside."

"This is an incorrect assumption, Creator-Shepard"" the geth consciousness explained in answer. "While the planet's surface temperature averages at 27.3 degrees Kelvin, the planet is still volcanically active despite its age. From the data it appears that the protheans who created the facility took advantage of this by building the structure over thermal vents, putting the interior temperature at 253 degrees Kelvin."

"Well, I suppose there was bound to be a bright side for once." Ria nodded slowly. As she did so, a light flashed on the display of the plant, indicating that their sensors had detected something._ Speak of the devil_ "Core, is that the ruins?"

"Preliminary scans indicate that this is so. However, we will need to run additional closer range scans to be certain."

"Got it. In the meantime tell the ground team to meet me in the comms-room in five minutes for the mission briefing" Ria replied, turning away and stepping down from the CIC.

"Affirmative, notifying team now."

**. . . . .**

"Okay, I'm going to be honest here. We have absolutely no idea what to expect inside this place." Ria bluntly began, speaking to the four assembled before her. "All we know is that something happened to all the previous teams sent here,and I'd rather we didn't meet the same fate. "

Of the members of her team only Tarran, Laura, Jalin, and Kel were present; Daron having not arrived. Ria had initially opted to wait for the mercenary to arrive, but after five minutes she had given; becoming thoroughly fed-up with the biotic's uncooperativeness.

"Great, any more good news?" Laura groaned.

"The ruins are on top of a thermal vent so we won't freeze to death." Ria offered, reiterating what Core has said. "Really though, I can't say any more then this: our plan is to get in, try to locate any working prothean tech which will hopefully include a code-matrix, and get out."

"You also forgot, don't get killed. That is always a good plan." Tarran added lightly.

"Ah, yes, thanks for reminding me. Remember not to die everyone. Wouldn't want any of us to forget that." Ria smirked, shaking her head with bemusement. Waiting until the soft laughter of her assembled team died down, Ria continued. "At this point we just need to whose going to be my ground team for this mission.. I'm open to suggestions or volunteers on this."

"Creator-Shepard" Core said, speaking up over the comms. "We recommend that you allow us to accompany you on this mission."

Ria turned her gaze upward, raising an eyebrow behind her mask at this announcement. "I'm not going complain, but you have never personally offered to go on group missions before. What makes now different?"

"As with all geth consciousnesses operating within the SR3 class vessels, we are equipt with software that allows us to interface with and better bypass the system defenses present in both prothean, as well as Old Machine, technology. As a consequence, our presence on this mission would prove beneficial should you encounter automated defenses within the ruined facility." the geth explained.

"Indeed" Jalin said, nodding in agreement. "I was about to mention it when Core said it himself. I of course, agree with his assessment of the situation and recommend he indeed accompanies us."

"I agree, if Core's software will work, then that sounds like it'll be useful" Ria replied thoughtfully after considering what both the geth and salarian had said. "I had been worried about that, now that you mention it. I had assumed that we would have to figure out how to get past any defenses as we go... that is, if any were still active."

"So we got tin man. Who else wants in?" Laura asked, the human's attention returning to Ria.

Ria began to reply, but only got as far as opening her mouth to speak before she was interrupted by Core. "I apologize Corporal Alenko, but your comment about the composition of this unit's mobile platform is factually incorrect. The main material used in its construction is an alloy of composed mainly titanium and aluminum, with small traces of gold, iron, and other metals. No tin is used in our construction."

"Well, titanium-aluminum-alloy-man doesn't have as nice a ring to it." the alliance soldier retorted as she rolled her eyes. "Anyways, my question still stands. Who else is going with."

Ria said nothing, considering the question for a passing moment before responding. She spoke slowly, voicing her thoughts yet still pondering the matter. "Well... I'm thinking that none of the ground team should stay back aboard the ship, though at the same time I think only one or two others besides myself and Core should be going into the ruins, at least at first. We don't know what to expect inside, so I would prefer if we have backup waiting in case something goes wrong and we get cut off from the exit or fall into a trap..."

She trailed off as she let that final thought hang in the air. Biting her lower lip, considering the matter for several more seconds before finally she made up her mind. "Laura, I know you are going to hate this, but I want you in charge of the group staying outside. If things do go horribly, horribly wrong; I need someone I can trust ready to pull us out of the fire. Besides, if it wasn't you it would be Tarran; and his ego is already too large as it is."

"Hey, its not my fault I have had to save both your lives twice now." Tarran chuckled, his mandibles widening in the turian equivalent of a grin "Nor can I can't help but look incredibly dashing while doing so."

"My case and point." Ria sighed, now it was her turn to roll her eyes. "As such, Sir full-of himself will be coming with me and Core. Meanwhile Jalin and Kel will stay with Laura, since if we do need to be saved, she will need a full team to do it."

"What about Daron? What group will he be assigned to" Jalin asked, mentioning the absent mercenary for the first time sense the meeting began.

"If he wants to be a team player for once, then he is free to come along and join either group." Ria replied curtly, a hint of annoyance creeping into her voice as she spoke.

As if on cue, the doors leading into the comms-room slid open as the mercenary in question strode in the chamber. Making his way to the side of the room, the biotic leaned back against the bulkhead, crossing his arms in front of his chest as he seemed to be considering those gathered in the room.

"Nice of you to show up. I had assumed you wouldn't be joining us." Ria replied bluntly, failing to completely hide the hostility in her voice.

"Overslept." the biotic replied coolly, his expression neutral as he spoke.

"Uh, huh" Ria said unconvinced. "I suppose you will need for me to go over everything again, won't you."

"That would be waste of all of our time. You can fill me in on the shuttle ride. Not that I can't already guess that the only thing you have actually decided is whose going into those ruins. I will be going with, unless you disagree." The mercenary replied, shooting the her a quick glare as he finished. Somehow Ria felt that he was challenging her to argue the point, to insist that he stay behind.

"No, thats fine. Doesn't make much of a difference to me either way." Ria replied, shooting him a glare of her own.

The biotic responded with a nonchalant shrug of his shoulder. Somehow this gesture annoyed her far more then any rude comment would have. The quarian bit her lower lip with a frown, having to force herself not to shout at the infuriating man. _Hes baiting you, don't give him the satisfaction,_ she scolded herself .

Taking extra care to keep her growing anger and annoyance contained, Ria continued from where she had left off before she had been interrupted by Daron's arrival. While they had already covered the major details regarding the mission, it still took nearly fifteen more minutes to cover the smaller areas of planning. Once that was at last taken care of, Ria took no time is bringing the meeting to a close, instructing her team members to gear up and meet at the shuttle in twenty minutes.

Soon enough Ria found herself standing alone in the comms-room as the last of her team filed out. Waiting until she was sure no one else within earshot, Ria slumped into one of the chairs with a weary sigh, cradling her head in hands. _Dad always said that being a leader was hard, but never in any__ of his stories did he tell me how much of a pain it could be. _Ria mused, finding exhaustion sliding over her like a stifling shroud.

_Yes, keeping everyone together and working as a team is not easy, especially if it means keeping that bosh'tet mercenary in check. But thats not it the only thing bothering you, is it? _A voice deep within her mind asked. Ria shook her head with another sigh. The more she thought about it, the more she feared that she simply did not have what it took to be a leader... to make a difference. So far she had accomplished nothing but inconvenience her enemies.

And now...now was possibly their last chance to find something that could perhaps even the scales with their enemy, to discover what Cerberus was after and perhaps access the information contained on the data disk they did have.

_What if we don't find anything, what if we fail... _Ria asked herself, finding no answer forthcoming. Not for the first time since this journey had begun she found herself feeling so very small and helpless against the looming shadow of an unknown and doubtful future.

**. . . . .**

The shuttle jerked and shook violently as it descended through the thick clouds hanging over the landing zone, sending up a chorus of curses from the vehicle's passengers. Glancing around Ria saw that her team wore expressions of unease mirroring her own (which was of course unseen by the others, due to her mask). Even Daron appeared nervous, his face locked in a grimace that tightened every time the vehicle shook. Oddly, only Jalin seemed unperturbed; the salarian's expression remaining calm and neutral throughout the ordeal.

"Tarran, would it kill you to drive smoother!" Laura shouted over the roaring rumble that reverberated around them as the shuttle continued to bounce and shake.

"Hey, you try flying through a blizzard. Its not easy!" Tarran retorted with a growl as he fought with the shuttles controls.

"Look on the bright side, it could be worse. We could be inside a tornado right now-" Ria started to say just as the shuttle was hit by another particularly violent surge of turbulence that nearly threw the quarian from her seat, only the shuttle's safety harnesses keeping her in place.

This brought a small smile to Laura's face that briefly replaced the grimace, to which Ria responded by shooting the human a glare. "Shut up."

"What, I didn't say anything." Laura replied before turning her attention to Kel, whose eyes were squeezed shut as he held onto the safety harness with a death grip. "Hey Kel, how ya you holding up?"

"Frightened." The young quarian replied with an audible effort, opening his eyes and raising his gaze.

"Don't worry Kel" Tarran shouted back from the cockpit, "The worst that could happen is that we crash and are all killed."

"Probability is also on our side. The chances of unintentional collision with the ground given the current conditions is only 1 to 37." Core added, the blue and white geth's light brightening as it spoke.

"That's... that's not helping!" Kel shouted in reply, squeezing his eyes shut once more and somehow finding a way to tighten his grip even further.

They all fell silent after that as the shuttle continued to descend through the storm raging around them. The turbulence continued for several minutes before it ceased as quickly as it had begun. The shuttle darting out of the clouds and down into the nearly pitch-black overcast bellow.

"Well, now that that's over; Tarran, how far away are we." Ria asked.

"Well, according to the coordinates of the anomaly the Invisible's scanners picked up we are-"

"7.081 miles from the prothean ruins. We estimate that we will be at that position in 3 minutes and 27.102 seconds." Core said, interrupting the turian.

"Yes, what he said... thanks for that Core." Tarran continued dryly.

"You are welcome." the geth replied, either ignoring or simply failing to detect the sarcasm dripping from the turian's voice.

Drawing closer to the coordinates the shape of a large crevasse in the ice and snow began to come into focus on the shuttle's display screen, the computer marking it as their destination. Core's prediction ended up being correct, with the shuttle coming to hover over the canyon after just over three minutes had passed.

Like a falling leaf the shuttle drifted downward into the crevice and down into the darkness. It only took a mater of a few seconds before they reached the bottom, the shuttle touching down with sizzling hiss as vehicle's the layer of ice an snow covering the floor melted and boiled at contact with the shuttle's thrusters.

"Ladies and gentlemen... and robots; we have arrived at destination; a stereotypical ice planet. Home to snow, snow, ice, blizzards, more snow, and creepy abandoned ruins." Tarran announced, pushing himself up from the pilot's chair.

Lifting her safety harness up over her shoulders, Ria stood; waiting as the other members of her team did the same. "All right people, you heard the turian. Out into the frozen wasteland."

One by one the members of her team quickly and efficiently filed out of the shuttle, weapons drawn and they fanned out to sweep the area for hostiles.

Ria was the last to exit, pausing to check her own equipment. In anticipation of having to fight within the confined space of the ruins, she had opted to take an Eviscerator shotgun like she had on Omega. She now to ensure the weapon in question was secured in place against her lower back. In addition to the shotgun she also carried two fragmentation grenades, along with the usual flash bangs. Finding everything was in order, she stepped outside.

Peering through the darkness that was only broken by the light coming from the shuttle, she began surveying the area. At first she thought that the area at the bottom of the crevasse was empty but for her team, but then her eyes fell upon the shapes of a handful of large ice covered mounds that stood out as natural against the surrounding stone and ice. Moving closer, she saw that underneath lay several shuttles much like their own, having been left abandoned to the elements when their owners had not returned.

_Okay, thats not foreboding at all_, Ria thought dryly as she turned away from the haunting reminder of the fate of the teams who had come here before. "Any luck on finding an entrance?" she called out as she made her way over to team was gather.

"Well, unless there is more than one prothean ruin here, I think I found it." Laura called out, waving her over.

Jogging over to where the human woman stood, Tarran, Core and Daron following suit; Ria saw that there was a circular hole in one of the sides of the cliff face. At first glance it appeared to be simply a natural opening, but on closer inspection it become apparent how perfectly shaped it was, and that underneath a layer of ice was a smooth dark gray metal. Past the opening she could see nothing, the light cast by the shuttle failing to pierce the almost unnatural blackness beyond.

"I know this is serious, but I would just like to make this clear first," Tarran said, turning away from the dark passage to flash her a smirk," if we somehow end up running into some sort of extra-dimensional being older then the universe itself that ends up devouring our souls, I called it."

"I highly doubt that will happen. I mean, Laura isn't even going inside with us" Ria grinned.

"I guess your right." Tarran replied, his smirk widening into a full blown grin. "I mean, what are the chances that more of her could exist?"

"My, but aren't you just cheeky today." Laura said in mock-anger, rolling her eyes in an exaggerated fashion. "Wouldn't it be smart if you got going already, instead of grinning like a couple of idiots?"

"Whatever you say, O' faceless horror from beyond time itself." Ria laughed, eliciting another annoyed-sigh from the human.

"Whatever, I'm going to get back to babysitting the shuttle." Laura muttered, turning away and jogging back to where Kel and Jalin waited back by the vehicle.

"Well then." Ria said, turning away as well to regard the three who were to accompany her into the ruins. "I guess it's time to go crawling into a dark and likely monster filled hell hole."

"I'm having fun already" Tarran replied dryly, following after her as they entered into the darkness before them.

. . . . .

For some time they walked in silence, passing through the empty chambers and cold dark halls that made up the catacombs. Several times they stopped to search those rooms that were more intact and appeared promising, but each time discovered little more the inactive prothean tech or inoperative equipment left behind by the previous explorers of the ruins.

"Nope, nothing... again!" Ria fumed as she moved away from the prothean device she had been examining, kicking at it for good measure. "As far as I can tell the only thing wrong with most of this stuff is that there is no power."

They were currently searching what appeared to have once been a guard post between the main area of the facility and the higher security labs beyond. Past the lines of barricades were two large alcoves where the guards not manning the checkpoint would have been most of the time. Within each of these small side chambers there were a handful of desks, each with a built in holographic display so that they could function as a computer terminal; which she and her team were now examining.

"We find this to be an accurate analysis." Core replied, moving away from the terminal he had been examining, mirroring her own movements. "Our scans detect that only 5% of the facilities' power is currently active. It is likely that critical power failure occurred at some period over the years"

"If thats the case, how do you explain the fact that some of equipment brought by the scientists is hooked up to some of this place's power?" Tarran, asked, gesturing at a assortment of portable computers and sensory devices stacked near one of the power lines.

The geth was silent for several moments before answering. "Insufficient data."

Sighing, Ria brought her gaze around the room one last time in search for anything she had missed. Finding nothing, She turned away and to the door leading onward. "Come on lets keep going, we aren't going to find anything here."

Continuing forward,she found that the door leading to the next room was already slightly ajar. With Tarran and Daron assisting her, she managed to pry the door open with little trouble. Stepping inside they found themselves in what appeared to be a central work area for the higher ranking prothean scientists, with large ornate workstations spaced evenly about the wide chamber. Three passageways branched off from the room.

"Tarran, you and Daron watch those hallways, I don't want anything sneaking up on us. Core, lets see if you and I can find something that still has power. Maybe we will get lucky for once."

They had only begun to examine the contents of the workroom when Core spoke up. He was stooped over a large control panel and display screen at the far end of the room. "Creator-Ria, our sensor's indicate this computer terminal still has sufficient power. Do you request that we interface with it and access any relevant information?" Core asked, looking away from the terminal in question to look at her as he spoke.

"Go ahead, if you think it will be useful you don't need to ask me for permission." Ria replied.

"Acknowledged" Turning back to the terminal Core extended both of his hands to hover over the controls. Blue electricity arced from his fingertips to the controls as he began interfacing with the prothean computer system. The process took several minutes before the dancing electricity ceased and the geth lowered his arms. "The information cache we have found is... troubling."

"What did you find?" Ria asked, surprised by the evident concern in the geth's voice.

"The lack of power is not as a result of system failure, as we initially theorized. According to system logs, the power was manually shut down three years, one month, thirteen days, twenty-two hours ago. The only logical conclusion is that one of the previous teams entering these ruins were behind this action; however, we cannot theorize why without further data." Core explained, sounding just troubled as before.

"That doesn't sound ominous at all" Tarran noted sarcastically.

"Find anything else useful" Ria asked, ignoring Tarran's comment.

"The path directly ahead of us will take us to the lower levels of the facility" Core answered flatly.

Nodding slowly, Ria moved towards the hallways the geth had indicated, cautiously raising her weapon so the attached flashlight illuminated the rubble choked passageway before her. Despite having partially colapsed, the passageway still appeared transferable, continuing on straight ahead unbroken past the rubble strew section immediately before her.

Motioning for her team to follow after her, Ria set out down the hallways, only slowing to scramble over the occasional pile of rubble. It wasn't long before they came upon the end of the path, which ended with an closed elevator.

"Well, we found the way down" Ria muttered as she moved forward to examine the elevator's controls. Reaching out the young quarian tapped one of the keys, which yielded no result. "Nothing. Core, maybe you could take a look?"

Moving up to the door as she stepped out of the way, the blue and white geth extended a hand to the control panel to hover inches away from its surface. For a solid half a minute the geth stood motionless as a statue. At last, the machine stirred and withdrew. "Negative. We were able establish a weak connection to the elevator's systems, but insufficient power meant that we could not override lock down or take control of the lift."

"Okay then, time for plan B" Ria said with a nod, before turning to where the mercenary stood off to the side"Daron, please do the honors."

Without a word, the human biotic stepped forward, dark energy springing up around him as he extended both hands. Ria turned away from the door for fear of shrapnel, and she heard a loud bang followed by concussive force. The elevator doors were now bent inward slightly, exposing a small opening. Taking a deep breath, the mercenary repeated this step twice more, followed by a violent biotic pull that yanked the two barely attached and twisted slabs of metal from their frame.

Grudgingly nodding in thanks, Ria stepped forward and turned her focus to what lay beyond the now open scar marring the smooth featureless stone. Past where the closed elevator doors had been moments before was a sheer drop that went on and on as far as the eye could see. The gloom from the depths seemed endless and oppressive, making her feel like she was grave robbing and some angry apparition was about to demand she leave.

"Thats a long way down" Tarran noted bluntly as he leaned cautiously over the edge to gaze down the elevator shaft.

Grasping the edge of the opening,Ria eased herself further over the edge to peer intently downward. Staring for several moments she then noticed that a faint glow could be seen far off, appearing to be coming from somewhere at the very base of the pit."Actually... I think I see a light near the bottom. See right there" she said pointing, drawing the turian eyes to the location of the light she had spotted.

"Creator-Shepard is correct, there is indeed a source of illumination near the base of the elevator shaft" Core concurred. "However, at this height we are unable to determine the distance it is from us."

"So, we climbing down or what?" Tarran asked, carefully stepping away from the gap.

"I am not sure..." Ria frowned, following the turian's lead in moving away shear drop before them. While they had brought with them some basic climbing equipment, some ropes and harnesses mostly, Ria found herself worried that the drop would prove too deep. _We only brought about five hundred feet of rope, and that drop has to be four to five hundred feet at the least._"No, not yet at any rate." She answered at last, turning away from the drop. " I would rather we try and find another way down or somewhere to reactivate this place's power. If we go down now we have no way of knowing if we will be able to find a way back up. Sure, we could climb, but that will take time and could get us killed if we need to escape."

"That will take too long." Daron growled, speaking up for the first time since they had entered the ruins. "We need to get on with this quickly, so we can get out of the hellhole before something inevitably goes wrong"

"I made my decision Daron, and thats final" Ria growled in a tone matching the mercenary's as she spun to face him.

There mercenary met her gaze with a flat look, appearing to be considering some thought. Then a moment later he turned away and strode over to the edge of the drop off. "So be it. I will have to do this on my own." Dark energy swirling around him, the mercenary leapt forward and dropped down.

"Daron, you bastard..." Ria said in mild disbelief as she stared at the shear drop the infuriating man had just leapt down.

"Well, that just happened." Tarran muttered, appearing to have been taken as much of guard as she had. "So whats the plan Ria? We going to try and find another way down like you said? Or does one of our team ignoring orders and jumping down a bottomless pit change that?"

"He deserves to be left here for that stupidity." Ria spat angrily, the venom in her voice surprising even her. Pausing to take a deep breath in a attempt to calm herself, Ria spoke again in what she hopped was a more neutral tone."But... he is still part of our team, so ya, it changes things."

"Great, climbing down the really deep hole it is then. You must love taking me out of my comfort zone" Tarran sighed, sliding the pack he was caring and began removing the climbing equipment stored inside.

"Oh, suck it up Vakarian" Ria answered with a small, unseen smirk as she prepared herself for the long decent ahead of them.

**. . . . .**

There was a soft clang of boots against metal as Marcus Daron landed in a crouch on top of the inactive elevator, having plummeted the length of the several hundred foot shaft in a matter of seconds. Slowly he stood up from a crouch, exhaling as he released the swirling vortex of biotic energy that had allowed him to slow, and ultimately survive the fall.

The mercenary darted forward and leapt down off of the lift, pausing once more to take in his surroundings. He found everything beyond the dim green light bathing the immediate area around the elevator was cloaked in shadows. _Of course_, he thought with a frown as he raised a hand out before him. With a brief surge of will he called up upon the biotic gift he had been cursed to bare so long ago. Pain stabbed through his veins as a reward for this effort, even as an vortex of azure light sprung up around his outstretched hand, casting a faint blue light around him.

With a grimace he set out into dark at a brisk towards the objective. If the others were content to waste time by clinging to caution and safety, so be it. While they crawled along and a leisurely pace he would deal with their objective and get them off this rock sooner rather then later. Whether he met resistance or not did not matter, he would could deal with it just as easily without their help as with it.

As he moved further inward the mercenary soon discovered that the path continued on branching, the only deviation being the occasional turn or side room. IT wasn't long before the mercenary came to the end, a large metal door baring his path.

Coming to a stop a few feet away, Daron slowly drew but a hand, his brown furrowing and teeth clenching as he called upon the his biotic talent once more. With a growl he trust his hand forward, hand snapping into a tight first as if snatching a thrown object out of mid air, a burning sensation coursing through him as he unleashed the torrent of dark energy. With a screech the metal began to warp and bend as if a massive hand had taken hold of the door and was crushing it in its grasp.

Drawing back his other hand, he thrust it forward with his palm open this time. The concussive blast that he unleashed tore the already warped and misshapen metal from its frame, sending it crashing to the ground a few feet inward with a resounding thud.

Stepping over the ruined wreckage that had once been a door, the mercenary found that he had entered onto a wide bridge spanning across a natural cavern of colossal size. Faintly slowly white lights were spaced out along the path, illuminating little but the bridge itself as it reached out far ahead. It was fortunate then that the lights still had power, as the bridge crossed over a massive natural chasm whose depth could not be determined within the gloom that hung over the room.

His gaze drawn deeper into the cathedral-like space, he saw that at the end of the bridge was a massive circular platform. Dim lights like those along the bridge were set into the edge of the platform illuminating the space, casting an eery light over its surface. In the center was a semi-circle shaped control panel, appearing to serve as some sort of command post. To either side of the platform sat an inactive lift, that if powered would allow one to descend deeper into the depths bellow.

Confidently he strode forward towards the light, heedless of any possible danger that might materialize from the darkness. He came to a stop in the center of the illuminated area as he examined the large control panel in front of him. Reaching out to it he tapped at one of the few physical buttons set into the panel. Nothing happened in response, the panel as dead and inactive as before. _Hmh, no power, _he though as he gazed over the rest of the panel in search for something that could help him

It wasn't long before his eyes fell upon a lever that stood out against the smooth panel, a line of alien symbols were set into either side of the switch, along with a small circular display. While he couldn't read the prothean writing, he could see that the still receiving power as it gave off a harsh red light.

_Doesn't take a tech expert to know that this does something, _he thought with a smirk as he closed his grasp around the lever and with a heave forced it toward and into the 'on' position. The display flashed green, and a humming noise began to emanate from all around him. Suddenly the control panel flared to life, a brilliant green and gold holographic interface displaying an array of strange alien symbols and letters. The lights on bridge and platform began to glow brighter as power was restored, fully illuminating the space around him.

Suddenly there was a click as a light far down in the chasm below flashed on. Then another flared to life. Then another. One by one in a cascading sequence light after light came on, bringing the full magnitude of the space into vision. He saw that what he had taken as a bottomless chasm was only just under sixty feet deep, ending in a wide smooth surface built on top of the cavern's floor.

He then noticed that the space bellow was not empty. A dozen or more large spikes jutted out from pedestals spread out around the area. Impaled on each was a limp humanoid form, staring up at him with dead empty eyes. All around the spikes stood more of the lifeless figures; gaunt, gray skinned, and covered in black and glowing blue cybernetics. Some appeared to be human in shape, while others were strange;having wide flat topped heads and two sets of eyes. As one the figures seemed to stir from their trance like state, turning their gaze upon him to stare with dead, glowing eyes. Then, one by one, they let out horrifying screeches that sent a long-forgotten fear crashing over him before moving and climbing towards him with deadly purpose.

* * *

**Authors Note:** Now, you may be wondering, "why did you just jump away from Shepard's story right in the middle of the action". Well, its all part of the plan my friends, all part of the plan. Also, how the husks survived the destroy wave has a perfectly logical explanation... the outline for this scene was written back before the EC came out when I was planning to have this fic take place after a alternate successful refuse ending and I then decided not to remove it from the story afterward. But do not worry, with the help of my editor, I have come up with a explanation that is totally not shoehorned in at all and will be revealed later on. If that answer doesn't satisfy you then I may be forced to very complicated things such as "artistic integrity" and "space magic" to justify my decision. If Bioware can do it, so can I.

Now, going back to the plot: will be getting back to Shepard's story soon... in about two chapter, maybe three ...and so my shameless attempts to build suspense by jumping to the other plot thread following a cliffhanger begins. Mwhahahahahahahaha.

Okay, I am really bad at this type of trolling, aren't I. Oh well, too late now. Anyways, the second of the character biographies I am writing is up on the blog section of my BSN account, and the next one shall be up next week end. I do apologies for missing a week on those, but darned school keeps getting in the way of my plans. Well, that's all for now, see you all next chapter.


	24. Chapter 24: Ice and Claws

4/29/2210

Fumbling with the harness for a few seconds, Ria finally unclipped herself from the length of rope dangling down where it was secured hundreds of feet above. It had taken them a great deal of time to repel down to the bottom of the elevator shaft. After they had dropped down over three-hundred feet Ria had feared that they would not have enough rope to reach the bottom. Luckily this worry proved ungrounded as she and her remaining team reached the bottom with still a good length of rope to spare.

"Well, lets hope we can get the power back on and don't have to climb all the way back up" Ria noted, gazing back up the way they had come.

"That would've been tedious to say the least." Tarran answered as he unclipped himself from his own harness.

"To say the least." Ria agreed, turning away from the shaft above them and to the hallway that stretched on ahead. "Come on, we're wasting time."

Before they could begin moving forward a series of deep, echoing clicks filled the air a split second before bright light filled the area around them. Blinded by the sudden shift, Ria squinted past the white glow. As her eyes adjusted, the quarian could now see that a dozen or more lights set into the floor and ceiling of the stone-hewn path had flared to life as power had been restored from somewhere.

"Well, I guess Daron already found out how to get the power on." Ria noted after, caught off-guard by this turn of events.

"That's great." Tarran replied, a bit of bitter sarcasm creeping into his voice. "It's almost as if we had to climb down a four-hundred foot hole for no damn-"

The rest of what the turian had to say was lost as inhuman voices cried out in a chorus of piercing shrieks. Ria clutched at the sides of her helmet, reflexively trying to cover her ears against the horrid high-pitched wails that assaulted her. But the worst part was the feeling of "wrongness" with voices themselves. They were so unnatural and alien that she was overcome by a primal fear, wanting nothing more but to run and hide.

Whether it was stubbornness or merely fear was so great that is paralyzed her, Ria stood rooted in the spot as the cries echoed and died around them and silence fell once more. "W-what was that?" Ria asked, glancing between Tarran and Core with wide eyes. The turian appeared nearly as unnerved as she was, he mandibles and jaw squeezed shut in the turian equivalent of clenched teeth and eyes widened slightly.

"The majority of the sounds are a 96.53% match to know recordings of deceased humans modified and controlled by the Old Machines, commonly referred to as husks by most organic races." Core answered, appeared unperturbed as he spoke in the same flat, almost completely emotionless tone as normal.

Ria found herself struck silent, finding it difficult to accept that she had heard the geth correctly.  
"Husks? But... how... shouldn't they have been destroyed ...?" She trailed off as images of the terrifying monsters that seemed to be right out of some horror vid that her father had described in the stories he had told her about his adventures. At the time those tales had seemed to be of things so long ago and far away that she had nothing to fear from them, and as a child had often imagined she were fighting them and other monsters as she pretended to be a spectre or heroic soldier fighting in the Reaper War. But now... now the thought only filled her with dread.

"Damn, you aren't kidding are you" Tarran said grimly as he slung his assault rifle up into a firing position

"We were not making a jest Officer-Vakarian." Core replied to the C-Sec agent, unhooking the geth plasma shotgun from where it was stored on his pack; the weapon collapsing as he smoothly brought it into a ready position.

"Ya, I figured." The turian frowned, his eyes locked down the long path before them as he intently watched for any movement coming that way. "Ria, what's the plan?"

Ria said nothing as she struggled to lift her father's rifle, which felt like a leaden weight in her shaking grasp. _Dad, I am not you. I... I don't know if I can do this..._, she thought to herself, doubt and fear growing by the minute. She wanted nothing more than to call a retreat, to flee from the monsters that she knew even her father feared. She couldn't possibly expected to do anything else, no one would blame her.

But then she remembered that Daron was still somewhere ahead, the very direction that the sound had come from. No matter how much she disliked the man, or how a part of her told her that the mercenary deserved his fate for the arrogance and stupidity of running on ahead, she could not abandon him. He was still part of her team; and she would not run away if it meant leaving a teammate to die.

Her hands stopped shaking and a fiery determination rose up in her. If it had been Tarran, Laura, or any other member of her team she wouldn't have let fear stop her from leaping to their rescue, and despite her own misgivings she owed Daron the same courtesy. "We are going to fight them, that's what." Ria answered confidently. "Come on, if we don't get there  
soon that that idiot Daron is probably going to get swarmed by the things." And with that, Ria set off down the hallway before her without pause, moving at a swift but cautious pace towards the echoing screeches that cried out once more.  
**. . . . .**

One by one the husks opened their mouths wider than any living human could and let out ear piercing screeches as they charged, scrambling up the support beams up to the stunned and wide eyed mercenary.

The sight and sound sent a wave of paralyzing fear crashing over Daron, fear likes of which he felt since he was a child. As shock took hold of him, the mercenary felt an overwhelming amount of anger and fear surge through him. He began lashing out in all directions, his powerful biotics flinging husks at hurricane speeds and smashing them into the wall so hard the whole area shook while his mind dredged up memories of the Reaper war.

_He covered his ears with his hand, trying to block out the horrible sound that carried up small colony that was his home. He was six years, and had been playing in the fields outside his home when his __home had come under attack by monsters that seemed to be right out of a nightmare._

_All around him swarms of horrible, gray gaunt figures swarmed over his home, chasing and scratching at screaming men and women as they tried to run away. Hidden under a stairway, the monsters hadn't seen him yet. Maybe they wouldn't find him and they would leave him alone..._

_Marcus' eyes widened as one of the fleeing men was overwhelmed and dragged to the ground by a group of the four eyed monsters. Too scared to move even enough to turn away, he watched on in horror as the things bent down and began to devour the still alive man; seeming to be fighting over him like a pack of dogs fought over a scrap of meat. The man thrashed and screamed for several seconds before falling still, the creatures continuing their ghoulish feast even after he had died._

A biotic shockwave tore into a trio of husks climbing up one the pillars, knocking them free and sending them falling down the dozen feet to the platform below. Even with his panicked biotics, the husks had begun to close in on him with frightening speed. They climbed up the pillars faster than he could knock them back and even now some were beginning to pull themselves up over the edge to the platform he stood.

He called upon his biotics again, unleashing a powerful wave of biotic energy at the foremost husk with a thrust of his hand. He heard the sound of snapping bones as the attack impacted, the husks mangled form knocked a dozen feet back into empty space. He'd unleashed a far more powerful attack then he should have, the effort draining him and causing intense to pain stab through his biotic implants.

In the time it had taken him to throw the first husk, a dozen more had scrambled up over the edge and let out piercing screams before barreling in his direction.

Backing away from the charging horde, Daron frantically called forth his biotics once more, firing off biotic push after biotic push that sent husk after husk sprawling. Normally he would have had the presence of mind to hit all the husks at once with one large biotic shockwave, but the fear and panic that had taken hold of him made considering tactics or strategy impossible.

Slowly the encroaching husks closed the distance on him, even as he continued to back away.. No matter how quick he threw them back, there were simply too many of them and those that he knocked back didn't stay down for very long. Catching movement out of the corner of his eye, Daron spun just as a husk lunged at his back, its sharp nailed hands clawing at his face as the mercenary frantically threw himself back. Off-balance, the mercenary fell onto his back, the force of the impact forcing the air from his lungs.

The husk was upon him them, leaping on top of him with an animal growl. Desperately the mercenary struggled with the attacker, barely able to do more then keep the husk's clawing hands away from his exposed throat; even as the horde of the mindless created of countless more closed in all around him.

**. . . . .**

Ria opened fire with her rifle, the first burst catching the lead husk in a throat; the force of which severed the thing's head from its shoulders and sent hits body tumbling to the floor. The remaining husks didn't even slow as they ran over the fallen corpse, charging with a single minded desire to tear the quarian and her team limb from limb.

After setting out towards the source of the screeching wails, they hadn't made it every far before a swarm of emaciated, gray skinned figures nearly two dozen strong, appeared in the distance. They darted towards her team with speed and agility that seemed at odds with their corpse-like appearance. Some of the husks were undoubtedly human, likely remnants of the previous explorers of the ruins. But others appeared to have once been protheans, husks who must have been dwelling in the ruins for thousands of years waiting for prey unlucky enough to discover them.

A echoing _crack_ like the sound of thunder cried out as another husk fell, a well placed shot from Tarran's sniper rifle blowing the head from its shoulders. An instant later three blobs of plasma arced towards the husk with high-pitched whine, the triangular grouping of searing hot material fired from the geth weapon splashing into a third husk. The husk stumbled a few more steps before falling, its chest a smoking ruin.

"Keep firing, don't let them get close!" Ria shouted, a hint of panic entering her voice as she watched the unnatural monstrosities charge. Staring into the cold, lifeless eyes of corpses that moved with the semblance of life, she felt fear unlike anything she'd ever felt in her life

_No! _A voice in the back of her head shouted, refusing to let her run. _My father didn't cower when he faced this monsters for the first time. Your no younger than mom was when she had to fight these things, and she didn't turn and run. _Squeezing the trigger on her rifle, Ria fired two more bursts into another husk, her rounds tearing through it. As the husk fell Tarran and Core likewise opened fire, each taking out another husk.

_Ancestors, there's too many! _Lowering her rifle, the young quarian yanked one of the grenades at her belt. Drawing her arm back she paused for a split second to judge the throw before arming and loosing the explosive.

The grenade clattered and bounced as it hit the ground a few feet in front of the foremost husk; rolling towards the mass of mindless creatures even as they ran towards it. Ria held her breath as a second crawled by for what seemed like an eternity, then another. Then, just as the first few husks passed it, the grenade detonated with a bang, the cloud of shrapnel tearing into the mass of husks around it. A handful of husks had been killed, but nowhere near enough as the rampaging horde kept accelerating.

Ria picked off a few more husks with three quick bursts from her rifle, while her squadmates kept firing into the endless masses.

"Reloading, cover me!" Tarran shouted, retreating back a step as he ejected a spent thermal clip from his rifle.

Stepping in front of the turian, Ria continued firing without missing a beat. A burst caught another husk in the shoulder, the impact spinning it around before the second pierced its exposed back.

Catching movement in the corner of her eye, Ria spun as a husk lunged at her. Acting completely on instinct she jabbed the end of her rifle into the husk's chest with a wet crack. The force of the impact combined with the husks own momentum shattering bones. Even as the blow connected, Ria squeezed the trigger, the point blank shot tearing a hole through the animated corpse.

Ria slung the empty vindicator across her back, and drew her pistol from the magnetic clamp at her hip. Even as she retrieved the sidearm, Ria clenched her left hand into a fist as a shimmering orange omni-blade flash-fabricated around her arm.

Leaping towards one of the husks, Ria brought her arm across in a arcing slash that cut deeply into a husk's torso. Darting back to avoid the clumsy swipe the damaged husk threw at her, Ria stabbed the blade into the beast's neck. Less than a second later a gunshot cried out as Tarran re-entered the fray, the lifeless body of another husk falling sans a head.

Whirling to face one of the remaining foes, Ria froze as a yell of pain echoed from far ahead. The sound came not from one of the lifeless monsters, but from an entirely human throat. "Dammit, we need to get there, now!" Ria shouted, speaking as much to herself as to the others. "Core, Tarran, cover me!"

"Ria, wait!" Tarran shouted as the quarian sprinted forward, moving past two of the husks before they could attempt to strike her. She threw herself into a roll and moved to block, the maneuver bringing her under the husks' swiping claws. Even as she came out of her roll and continued her charge past the remaining husks, more of the creatures appeared ahead of her moving to engage her and her team. _Keelah, I don't have time for this!_

Thinking quickly she drew a flashbang grenade, and without slowing tossed it into the group of foes blocking her way. Snapping her eyes shut as the grenade detonated, Ria let out an inward cry of joy as she opened her eyes to see that the animated corpses were affected by the devices' disorienting effects just as any living thing would have been.

Bringing her pistol to bare, Ria emptied her weapon's clip into the dazed husks as she sped past them. She didn't pause to see see the effects of her assault; trusting Tarran and Core to finish up the remaining foes before following after her. _Daron, you better still be alive. If I had to go through all this effort to save your sorry ass for nothing, I am going to kill you._

**. . . . .**

The husk was upon him them, leaping on top of him with an animal growl. Desperately the mercenary struggled with the attacker, barely able to do more then keep the husk's clawing hands away from his exposed throat; even as the horde of the mindless created of countless more closed in all around him.

Daron struggled to throw the husk off him, knowing that if he didn't it would end him without a moments pause. He roared in defiance and sent a wave of energy out before him, sending the thing flying like a missile out into the abyss.

Pushing himself up off the ground, he extended a hand towards the attacking husks. The shockwave sent the creatures in its path tumbling to the ground, breaking a hole in the circle of foes closing in on him. Throwing himself forward, he rolled through the gap, spinning as he came to a halt a few feet beyond the enemies.

Again the husks charged him, and again he hit them with a barrage of biotic attacks to keep them at bay. But no matter how hard he tried, no matter how many he sent flying, even more took their place. Daron could feel himself tiring at the constant use of overpowering biotic attacks, and he cursed when his biotics flared up in pain inside his head. The more his strength failed, the more panicked and frantic his attacks became

Before he knew it the husks were upon him, claws flashing and teeth bared as they leapt across the remaining distance. He hadn't thought he would die like this.

* * *

**Author's Note:** Sorry about the shorter length then normal, but time constraints meant that I had to split chapter 24 into two parts. Luckily however, the rest of it (which is now chapter 25) is looking like its going to be twice as long as this part, so hopefully that makes up for it.


	25. Chapter 25: Swarms of the Dead

_4/29/2210_

Frantically Daron threw his hand forward, bellowing with pain and frustration as he threw a biotic attack at the closest of the encircling husks. As a result of his failing strength coupled with not having enough time to bring the full force of his power to bare, the rusting assault managed little more then knock the husk flat on its back less than a yard away.

The next husk was on him then, its claws digging long deep gashes across his face as he dodged too slow. Drawing one of his combat knives in a backhanded grip, the mercenary plunged the blade into the husk's face, shoving the thing away with a growl as he twisted and tore the weapon free. Spinning just in time he grabbed hold of another husk's hand as it shot for his throat. He hacked at the arm with his knife, biotics flaring as he doubled the force of the attack so that the blade severed all the way through flesh and bone.

Suddenly a hard grip took hold of him from behind, a husk having managed to get behind him while he had been fighting off others. He yelped in pain as clawed fingers dug into his shoulder, managing to pierce through his skin like it was tissue paper. The creature pulled him back, sending him tumbling to the ground.

Before he could react two husks let loose shrieking cries as they pounced at him with sharp teeth bared. He snapped a booted foot up, catching one of the beasts in the stomach and sending it staggering back. Claws painfully dug into his shoulder as the other husk was upon him, its head shooting forward as it attempted to tear out his throat. Right as the husk got within an inch of his exposed neck, the mercenary buried his knife into the thing's chest. The husk hissed in what seemed like pain as it threw itself back, the sudden movement tearing the knife stuck in it from Daron's grasp.

Shaking with a mix of fear and absolute panic, the biotic shoved himself to his feet, staggering back as he drew his pistol and dropped the husk at his rear. The gun barked once, twice, and three times as he fired into the horde of husks, three falling as the high powered rounds entered their skulls. Before he could fire a fourth time a husk lashed out, the blow sending the weapon spinning from his grasp.

Before Daron could even react the husk lunged at him, the things outstretched palm connecting with his forehead. The second the creature made contact, Daron felt an icy pain shoot through him, every fiber of his being seized with a tight pain as if electricity was arcing through him. Inky black shadows fell over his mind as long remembered pain reverberated in his skull.

_He remembered a wave of red light flashing before his vision as pain shot through his implants as if they had turned to molten metal. A thousand horrible, alien voices rose up in a deafening cries of complete agony. He felt himself scream as the pain grew by the second, the feel of many minds touching his and tearing away at his very soul before they vanished into nothingness._

Wracked by aftershocks of phantom pain, Daron crumpled to the ground. His vision flashed and blurred as his head struck the unyielding surface below. _Get up dammit, get up, _a voice shouted inside his head, frantically urging him to move. Obeying the commands, the mercenary struggled to move only to find his body unresponsive to his commands.

He froze as he saw the silhouette of a husk enter his vision, the grotesque creature looming over him. The thing let out a snarling cry as it drew a clawed hand back to strike

_So this is how I die_, Daron thought to himself as the husk's hand descended towards him, time seeming to slow to a crawl. _Never thought I would die to those things, not now._

The husk's head exploded into a shower of gore as a sound like thunder echoed through the cavern. Stunned, Daron watched as the husk tumbled sideways, its headless form landing with a splat next to him.

Two more echoing bangs reverberated throughout the cavern, each followed by a faint thud of a husk's body striking the ground, intermixed with the sound of footsteps against metal. With an almost insurmountable effort Daron turned his head in the direction of the sound, his gaze falling upon his rescuer.

At the end of the bridge stood a familiar shape, wisps of smoke curling out from the barrel of the shotgun held in the blurry figures grasp. When his eyes cleared a little more, he watched the quarian Ria as she in one smooth motion ejected a spent thermal clip and slapped in a fresh one. A sharp click sounded as she finished and she brought the weapon into a firing position.

"Alright you bastards, I know you can't understand me but here's the deal. Get the hell of away from my crewmate!" the quarian snapped in a commanding tone, her luminous eyes narrowing behind her faceplate.

The remaining husk let out snarling cries in response to the newly arrived quarian's command, seeming to have momentarily forgotten the wounded and dazed mercenary as they leapt at her with claws and teeth bared. As the snarling mass charged, Daron was surprised to see that Ria held her ground; seeming unaffected by the swarm encircling her with deadly intent.

**. . . . .**

Ria waited until the the husks were only a few feet away before squeezing the trigger of her shotgun, the tight group of rounds caught a husk full force in the chest. Moving before the first husk had even hit the floor, she fired her shotgun twice more; the weapon barking as it blasted away two more of the creatures.

The gun now empty, the quarian didn't miss a beat as she tossed the weapon aside, ducking under a sweeping claw that passed through the air her head had occupied moments before. Drawing the knife strapped to her boot, Ria snapped her hand forward, plunging the blade into the thing's skull.

As the husk fell with the knife still embedded in its forehead, Ria grabbed a small round object from her belt. With a flick of her wrist the quarian threw it over the attacking horde to land a few yards behind. The thing bounced once before it froze in mid air, a gold and white holographic shell forming around it as the combat drone activated. "Go get em, Tikkun"

Drawing her father's vindicator, the quarian opened fire on the husks even as bursts of electricity unleashed by her drone arced between then. Caught between the two, the half a dozen remaining husks were quickly vanquished. As the last beast fell riddled with bullet holes, silence fell once more over the cavern.

"Good work Tikkun" Ria smiled, extending a hand out towards the drone. The brilliantly glowing orb shot towards her a second later, hovering above her hand before deactivating, dropping onto her upward facing palm.

Pocketing the drone, Ria turned her attention to Daron. While none of the mercenary's wounds appeared particularly life threatening, at a glance, the quarian could tell that he was still not in good shape. The human bled from a half a dozen deep claw-wounds across his face and arms. From the Mercenary's half closed eyes and distant-gaze; Ria guessed he had sustained a concussion or at least some other kind of head injury.

Making her way over to the man, Ria knelt down and extended a hand to the biotic. "Daron, get up... now! There's probably going to be more of those things, and I need your help."

Groggily the biotic took her grasp, and with an effort Ria hauled the man to his feet. "You okay?"

"Ya, thanks." Daron said with a cough, shaking his head to clear it. "Where are the other two."

"I don't know." Ria said, worry filling her as she looked back the way she had come. "They were fighting a group of husks last time I saw them, but they should have been able to handle it by now."

Both Ria and Daron froze as a chorus of shrieking cries echoed throughout the cavern, the screeches soon followed by the sound of a dozen hands and feet scraping against stone and metal. Rushing to the edge of the bridge, Ria saw that husks had begun pooling into the lower levels of the cavern and even as she looked on were beginning to scramble towards the pillars leading up to the platform she and Daron now stood on.

"Dammit!" Ria spat, spinning around to face the mercenary. "We need to go, now!"

The human biotic didn't respond, standing utterly still as more screeches echoed out. While his face was twisted in a grimace, Ria saw that the man's eyes were wide and filled with unmistakable fear. Seeing the normally unshakeable mercenary frozen in terror shocked the quarian.

"Snap out of it! I can't fight them on my own!" Ria shouted at the biotic, grabbing him by the shoulder and shaking him. This seemed to have little effect, the man glancing at her briefly before squeezing his eyes shut and turning his gaze away.

Cursing, Ria turned away and glanced down at the encircling husks, panic filling her as she saw that they were already scaling the pillars leading towards them. Spinning around, she gazed down the hallways she had come down, seeing no sign of movement. _Ancestors, where is Tarran and Core! They shouldn't be taking this long. Ria knew that if they _didn't arrive soon, she would need Daron's help if she was to have any chance of surviving this. Frantically, Ria spun back to the mercenary. "Daron, you bosh'tet. Snap out of it!"

Once more he did not respond to her orders, his shoulders shaking as more husk cries echoed throughout the cavern. Now desperate and out of ideas, Ria's fingers curled into a fist and on impulse she punched the biotic full in the face.

In hindsight the decision to punch Daron had probably been an incredibly stupid one, but at this point she had a million other things the worry about. In the wake of her punch the fear and panic in the biotic's eyes gave way to a look of surprise that quickly turned to rage. The human's mouth twisted into a snarl as his biotics flared up around him and before she knew it Ria found herself wrenched half of foot off the ground as the mercenary's hand seized hold of her throat.

"What the hell was that for" The mercenary growled, his teeth clenched with barely contained fury.

Just then Ria caught movement in the corner of her eye, her gaze darting over to the ledge just in time to see that the first handful of husks had begun to pull themselves up over the edge.  
"Get angry later! Kill husks now!" Ria replied quickly, the biotic snapping his gaze towards the approaching creatures.

The anger in Daron's eyes fled at the sight of the approaching husk, replaced by a wide eyed look of panic as he released his biotic grip upon her; the quarian falling to her hands and knees as she caught herself. For a split second, Ria feared that the biotic would freeze up again, but to the man's credit he held his ground; dark energy swirling around him as he turned to face the charging creature.

With a snarl, Daron threw a trio of husks back; the things disappearing from sight as they fell over the lip of the bridge. Immediately the mercenary attacked again, a husk appeared torn from the inside out as as result of the biotic field the mercenary manifested inside of it.

Not wasting anymore time, Ria clawed for her assault rifle and scrambled to her feet. She brought the weapon up just in time, putting a burst of rounds into a charging husk when it was less than a foot away. Without skipping a beat Ria unloaded her remaining clip into the mass of enemies surrounding them.

Again and again husks flung themselves at the duo, and again and again brought low by hails of gunfire or biotic attacks. Despite their efforts a new husk appeared to replace each the creatures that fell to lay among the growing piles of vanquished foes.

"We can't keep this up, there are too many" Ria shouted as she frantically reloading her rifle. Popping off single burst that caught a lunging husk in the face, the quarian continued. "Can't you hit them all at once or something?!"

"I can't, tapped out." Daron growled through clenched teeth, the reply morphing into a strained cry as he threw another husk back. Only then did Ria notice how utterly spent the mercenary appeared, sweat drenching his hair and face and movement shaky as if he was about the collapse at any moment.

"Well, we're in trouble then." Ria replied faintly, her heart sinking as more and more husk closed in around them.

Suddenly there was a buzzing, staticy noise as a overload struck a group of husks, the creatures writhing and spasming as the wave of electricity rolled through them. Even as the tech based assault faded, three thunderous shots echoed out one after another, dropping three husks with almost mechanical efficiency.

Ria tore her eyes away from the attackers for a split second just in time to see Tarran and Core charge into sight. Both appeared battered and bruised, cobalt blue blood seeping through a gashes on Tarran's arms and face, while the geth was covered in varying degrees of dents and scratches.

Reloading in a smooth motion as he came to a halt, Tarran loosed another hail of rapid shots into the swarm of husks and a chunk of them broke away from Ria and Daron to turn their attention to the newcomers.

Coming to a stop besides him, Core deployed a small automated turret that at once began tearing into the attacking creatures with a barrage of super-heated plasma.

With the moment of breathing room granted by the geth and turian's arrival, Ria once more retrieved her inert combat drone from the pouch on her belt and tossed it into the center of the mass of husks. "Lets go Tikkun, once more!"

Between the combined fire of Ria, Core, and Tarran's weapons, the geth turret, her drone, and Daron's biotics it didn't take them long to cut down the remaining husks

Ria lowered her weapon as the last husk fell. "Took you two long enough." She said, breathing heavily

"Would have been here faster, but _someone_ had to run ahead and leave us to deal with the horde of husks." Tarran replied in a sarcastic tone that slowly became of more weary one. "Seriously Ria, if you're going to try something like that again, warn me."

"Sorry, I didn't really think about what I was doing, I just did.". The quarian answered. On reflex she raised a forearm to wipe the sweat beading her brow. only for her hand to bounce of the faceplate of her helmet. _Heh, already over a month off Rannoch and I still haven't gotten use to completely suited life._ Ria mused, somehow finding the thought incredibly amusing despite the currently predicament she was now in.

"So, now that the whole team is present, are we going to try and get out of here before more space zombies try and kill us; or continue on with foolhardy stubbornness?" Tarran asked. Even as he rested his rifle lazily against his shoulder, the turian still appeared alert.

"Is that even a question? Think about who you are talking to." Ria said with a forced smile. "I'm not about to let some cheap horror vid monsters stop me."

"Foolhardy stubbornness it is, wonderful." Tarran sighed. "How do our resources look? I have a few proximity mines and handful of clips left, you three?"

"I got two grenades left, plus enough thermals for a few more firefights." Ria answered. "I also still have Tikkun, but he's only got enough power left for about a minute if we need him in a fight."

"This unit still possess a sufficient number of thermal clips for continued combat operations as well. However, power on deployable turrets is only marginally less limited that your drone, creator-Shepard."

Ria nodded before turning to the fourth member of the squad. "Daron, what about you?"

"I... I'm drained, simple as that." The mercenary replied hesitantly, appearing to be having trouble acknowledging his weakened and vulnerable state. "I'm not sure how much more I have in me when it comes to biotics."

Ria's mind raced as she attempted to think up an alternative to using biotics to keep the creatures at bay, but ultimately only had two options. She started moving further down the bridge and the rest of the team cautiously followed as she concentrated. She could either do a running firefight deeper into the complex and try to just run past them, or retreat. Neither option was ideal, but she was running out of time.

The bridge soon ran into a large elevator shaft that went deeper into the facility, but the lift she called was still at the bottom, making them wait in a nervous semi circle with heads swiveling. She knew they could probably hold out on ammo if they did a running firefight, but the odds of an injury rose substantially if they couldn't move up methodically and were forced into a run. She had learned these tactics well from her father, but she knew there was a time that only the risky strategies could succeed.

The lift finally arrived and pinged loudly as the doors slid open and they moved inside, and she slapped the button for the bottom floor. the elevator ground it's way down slowly and uneventfully, and her crew prepared themselves for a fight as they neared the lowest reaches.

No sooner had they reached the bottom of the lift than a dozen overlapping screeches rose up, echoing down from passages ahead.

"Keelah, how many more of them are there!?" Ria spat, as she spun to face the direction of the sound.

"Given that the source of the human husks are the remnants of the previous expeditions to these ruins, their numbers can be no more than 100." Core answered, the geth's voice as unshakably calm as always.

"Sure, thats very helpful considering half of these husks are protheans" Tarran noted dryly.

"This is correct, our estimate was only of those created from human corpses. We will need more data before we can predict how many husks in total inhabit the facility." The geth answered, turning his single glowing optic towards the direction of the sound.

"I know this is interesting, but shouldn't we not stand around like a bunch of damned idiots?" Daron growled, his eyes widening as more husk cried echoed around them.

"I have to agree. We need to move!" Ria shouted, a hint of panic creeping into her voice as the sound drew closer. "Core, now that the powers back, can you access the base's computer systems?"

"We already have creator-Shepard. According to the files we have just accessed, this facility was a weapons research lab. In addendum, records indicate that there is a vault on this level of the facility containing a variety of experimental technology." Core answered, as he spoke the geth's glowing optic dimming as he downloaded data from the prothean computer system.

"Which way?" Tarran asked.

"The main passage is to the left of us. It is approximately one-ninth of a mile between here and the vault."

Without delay the four set of down the hallway Core indicated at a full sprint. As the ran they heard more cries far off behind them, drawing steadily closer by the second.

Ria feared they would be overtaken, but at last the end of the hallway come into sight. Huge doors of a strange green-grey metal blocked their path, glowing lines in its surface casting a harsh red light. They came to a halt not far from the door and Core ran ahead towards it's control panel, wrenching off the exterior and beginning his hack.

"How long is it going to take?" Ria asked anxiously, glancing back over her shoulder as the sound of the mass of encroaching husks continued to draw closer.

Core was silent for several heartbeats before answering. "Unknown."

"Wonderful" Ria groaned, turning so that she faced the way they had come. "Looks like we are going to have to hold here for as long as we can. Tarran, I need you to set every proximity mine as far out as you can. Don't go too far out though, if you see the husks, fall back to us."

"Got it" The turian replied, sprinting off a ways down the hallway.

"Daron, I need you to hold back on using your biotics unless absolutely necessary. Once we get the vault open we'll need everything you have left if we're going to fight our way out." Daron nodded and breathed heavily, trying to calm himself. "Core, I want a status report on progress every minute."

"Affirmative."

Tarran returned a few moments later, having placed half a dozen proximity mines along the hallway a few yards back. "Done. I'd suggest we duck when those freaks reach the surprise I left for them."

Just then a swarm of husks came into sight, sprinting down the hallway and barreling past the small flickering lights that were the charges he'd set. "Spirits be damned." Tarran suited his previous words and ducked as a loud beep echoed over the creatures howls.

They were pelted with chips of stone and covered in a haze of ancient dust as the hallway shook in the wake of the mines' explosion. The hallway was deathly quiet for a long moment, and for a second she thought that was all there was, but again the howls came from further back as the horde kept coming closer.

"Core, status!"

"The allotted time of one minute has not yet-"

"Core!"

"Approximately forty five seconds!" His mechanical voice was tinged with a note of annoyance at her insistence, but she was too focused on the other end of the hallway. Hefting the vindicator to her shoulders she took a deep breath and slowly exhaled it like Zaeed has shown her all those long years ago just as the first husks sprinted in.

Her team opened fire, keeping the approaching horde at the opening and trying to negate their advantage of numbers. Time felt like it was crawling as more and more husks got past the hallway entrance, each time getting closer and closer to their position.

"Done!" Core announced as the the vault doors inched open with a creaking sound.

"Go! Everyone get inside!" Ria ordered, backing into the room behind her even as she continued firing upon the encroaching foes. When the last of her team was inside, Ria grabbed her last frag grenade from her belt and tossed it into the wave of husks just a Core slammed the doors shut with a wave of his omni-tool. There was a muted boom as the grenade detonated, followed shortly after by a thud as the husks slammed into the door outside.

Ria slumped in exhaustion against the vault door, and she noted the rest of her squad doing the same. Only once she had caught her breath did Ria begin taking in her surroundings. They were in a small room lined with shelves ladened with an assortment of strange alien devices, few of which took recognizable forms.

"Grab anything that looks useful, anything that could help us get out of this mess." Ria ordered, stepping forward to examine the contents of the vault. She ran her long fingers over a dusty pyramid shaped item near her that sat on a desk and activated her comm channel to her crew topside.

"Ria to Laura, we need assistance. We are trapped in the vault room at the bottom of the complex by husks, I repeat, husks." She waited a moment for a response but got only static. Cursing under her breath, she knew why that was.

_Of course it doesn't work this far down. too much interference from all that stone above us. Not to mention whatever else might be broadcasting down here._She frowned behind her helmet for a moment as she thought about that, and shivered at the implications of being stuck in this room.  
_The reapers used indoctrination as their weapon, and if these husks are still active, then so could whatever turned them. _She suddenly wished fervently that she'd paid more attention to her father's stories about indoctrination.

Just then Ria noticed that the room seemed centered around a particular shelf at the far end, and all the lights were turned towards it as if to point out its importance. Drawing closer she saw an object sitting atop the shelf that perfectly matched the description Liara had given her of a prothean Code-Matrix. It was was a small cube of a crystalline material about twice as large as her fist that seemed to shimmer with its own light. At its core was a sphere of a silvery material like molten metal that seemed to morph and fluctuate in size even as she gazed upon it.

When Ria finished admiring the matrix, she looked up and around for her squad. Her eyes fell on Tarran first, who was rummaging through a moldy old box and coughing, before he came up with a triumphant grin and a massive weapon in both hands. it was immediately obvious what it was, as it had a large barrel at the front, and easy handles on both top and bottom along with a trigger on it's underside.

"Oh yes, This is now my favorite gun on the citadel!" Tarran grinned as he looked the weapon over with an excited gleam in his eyes.

"Creator-Shepard?" Ria tore her gaze away from Tarran's find to look at Core, who stood over a metallic crate and holding up a circular object for her to see.

"What is that Core?"

"We believe these to be grenades, due to the amount within and the volatile symbols along the container. This hypothesis is... theoretical, at best."

Ria nodded. "It can't hurt to try them anyways, given how many husks we're going to be dealing with." Turning her attention back to the code-matrix. The quarian began to move to pick up the device, but then stopped suddenly as hesitation gripped her. She half expected that picking up the device would trigger some sort of automated defenses or boobytrap. Working up her courage, the quarian's hand shot forward, her eyes squeezing shut as her fingers closed around the device.

Nothing out of the ordinary happened, much to the young quarian's relief. Moving slowly and carefully, Ria lifted the prothean artifact up from its shelf, and carefully dropped it into reinforced and padded bag that was slung over her shoulder that had been brought for the very purpose of transporting the artifact.

Moving away from the shelf Ria turned to the prospect of their escape. Going over their options in her head, Ria found the possibility of making it to the surface unlikely at best. The only clear option was to hit the husks head on and hope they could shoot a path out. _That heavy weapon Tarran found definitely helps, but firepower can only go so far. We are simply too outnumbered. Still, its either give up or try anyways; and I can't give up without a fight._

Shaking away these doubts, Ria turned to address her team."We got what we came for; time to bust our way out. Grab anything else here thats small enough the carry. I wish we could take all of it, but we can't afford to be weighed down." Ria ordered. "Core, get ready to open the vault on my signal."

"Affirmative"

While her team began searching the vault for any remaining artifacts that looked useful, Ria stooped down next to the crate Core had open. Retrieving a handful of the "grenades". She pocketed all but one, which she kept grasped in her hand as she stood.

As she waited for her team to get into positions and stop scrounging, a shelf around head height caught her attention directly beside her. It was mostly empty except for a small rounded and circular metal disc, it was like a cross between her Aunt Liara's prothean data disks and the human pastry her father had called a donut. It looked light and it was certainly small enough to justify taking so on impulse she snatched it off the shelf and stuffed it into a pocket on her suit.

Moving into position in from of the door, she passed the grenade from hand to hand anxiously, waiting until all of her team had their weapons trained on the door. Retrieving her vindicator from where it was slung against her back, Ria help it at her side as she prepared to throw the "grenade" the second the vault reopened.

"You guys ready?" Ria asked.

"Hopelessly outnumbered and high chance of gruesome death? Sounds like our kind of party." Tarran smirked, shouldering the prothean rifle he had taken.

"Good to hear" Ria replied with a small smile at her friend's confidence. Narrowing her eyes, Ria turned all her focus on the closed vault door. "Core, on my mark...MARK!"

With a creaking noise the door slowly grinded open. Through the widening gap Ria saw that groups of husks more than a score strong were gathered in the area beyond the door. Seeing the opening, the creatures let out shrill screeches before, throwing themselves at Ria.

Gun shots shot past Ria as Daron and Core opened fire, dropping the first few husks as they leapt at her and the others. Drawing her hand back, Ria flipped the small switch on the grenades surface and chucked it into the slathering horde of feral abominations.

The grenade lit up like a flare as it left her hand, casting the same eerie green glow as most of the other prothean tech she had encountered. As the grenade hit the ground in the center of the husks, the device detonated in a flash of light and a high pitched _crack. _The air rippled as a barely visible wave of blue-green light rolled over the husks in area around it. For a split second Ria though it had not affected the creatures, the energy rolling over them without causing any physical harm. Then she saw that the glowing blue of the cybernetics tracing the skin of the husks caught in the blast began dim and die out before the creatures fell lifeless to the ground.

Even as the first husks fell, Tarran moving in front of Ria as he shouldered the weapons he had taken from the vault. "Lets see what this thing can do!" The turian smirked as he squeezed the trigger. A beam of orange energy half a foot in diameter blasted out from the end of the weapon and struck the a husk dead center. The searing ray of energy didn't so much wound as it did vaporize the creature, reducing the thing to ash in less then a second. Continuing firing, Tarran brought the weapon across the area in front of him, burning away husk after husk effortlessly. When the weapon finally stopped firing, nothing was left of the attacking creatures other than a layer of ashes.

Ria had to fight down the urge to gawk at the carnage that weapon had wrought, and she finally lowered her eyebrows from the shock. "That... was unexpected."

"Unfortunately I think its out of energy" Tarran frowned, examining a counter on the weapon. The counter was flashing an alien symbol Ria didn't recognize, but could guess at its meaning. "And here I thought things just got easy, Figures something that destructive is limited."

"Doesn't matter, it gave us an opening. Move!" Ria answered, springing off down the hallway.

They sprinted back the way they had come in, easily hoping over the pile of dead husks at the end of the hall and running out towards the elevator that led back towards the bridge. Tarran's face lit up a little as he motioned for Ria to look at the weapon counter on his weapon in mid sprint, and showed her the number was moving.

_Possibly recharging? That might just give us a chance..._

More husks rose to stop them as they entered the main chamber, only to be cut down by combined gunfire as they rushed to the lift. All around scores of the feral creatures streamed out from side passages and converged in around them.

Ria leapt up onto the lift that lead up to the bridge first, spinning around to lob another of her new found grenades into the mass of husks. Like before the device detonated on impact, sending a dozen husks falling limply to the ground in a wave of blue-green light.

The split second the last member of her team stepped onto the platform, Ria slammed a fist on the control panel. The lift lurched as it began to rise right as the first husks reached them, the creatures clawed helplessly while she and her team rose out of reach. One husk managed to grab onto the edge of the platform, only to be knocked back down as Daron slammed his boot into the thing's head.

Even as she and her team shot up toward the bridge above, the husks below them had already started to climb up after them. with speed out matching any living being. Judging the distance to the top and the rate the husks climbed up after them, Ria guessed maybe one minute of a headstart, which should allow for plenty of time to get to the elevator.

They arrived at the top and the doors slid open agonizingly slow, but they were all soon barrelling down the bridge and towards the hallway that led to the elevator out. As they crested the midway arch of the bridge they stopped dead.

Below them was a practical sea of the monsters, standing right between them and the elevator. It looked like they didn't see her team yet, and were all looking up the elevator shaft.

"Well, there goes _that _plan." Tarran shouldered past the group to the front and hefted his two handed weapon, leveling it at the creatures. She took the hint and shouldered her weapon, along with the rest of the team. Every one of them had their backs to her squad, they would only get one chance at this.

"Charge." Ria hissed in a harsh whisper as she opened fire. Tarran roared and let his cannon loose, tearing apart the rear ranks of fiends before they even knew they were under attack. Ria and Core walked forward at a steady pace, spraying into the crowd with their rifles while Daron leaped out front. He threw dozens in high arcs that sent them hurtling into the pitch black darkness to either side of the bridge.

The husks in front were nearly dealt with, but she had forgotten about the ones behind. Yelling in panic she swirled around to see Tarran struggling to keep his cannon from a husk that was grappling with him. She sighted it down and dropped it, but as ever, there were more. She ran up to Tarran's side and covered him while he fell back to the others, then as a group they occupied the area once filled with husks at the bottom of the elevator.

After she smacked the lift button they formed a semi-circle before the elevator door, blasting any that came close, but in a matter of moments they were swarmed. Daron's short burst of stamina was gone.

His powers were failing, making husks stumble instead of fly. Tarran's cannon was empty once more, and he had switched to his sniper rifle once more. Core deployed his turret with the last vestiges of power it had, but they were too many.

_I'm sorry dad._

Her thoughts turned to family as she watched Core drop his weapon and deploy his omni-blade, tearing into husks with a skill only a machine could exhibit; while Tarran was brought down to the ground by a pair of husks.

Just then Ria felt a faint woosh of air as Ria saw a small round object flying over their heads to land amidst the horde of feral beats. There was a thundering boom as an explosion shredded and tore apart a group of husks unfortunate enough to be caught in its blast. A barrage of bullets filled the air around her and tore through the line of husks, sending one after another falling under to overwhelming assault.

Spinning around, Ria saw that while they had been locked in their desperate struggle the elevator doors had opened behind her. Her heart skipped a beat as she let out a inward cry of joy as she say that within the open space stood the rest of her team.

"Get in!" Laura shouted, firing off controlled bursts that sent one husk after another falling in a spray of inky black icor. Jalin and Kel both glowed with azure energy and lashed out with their biotics, the combined attack launching a swath of the creatures crashing into those behind.

Turning, Ria threw herself into the elevator just as her team did the same, their rescuers continuing to provide covering fire until all of them made it inside. One husk threw itself forward just as the elevator began to shut, wedging itself between the closing doors. Laura snarled and put a boot up in the creatures face along with her gun barrel She shoved with her leg and shot the thing in it's gnarled face, spraying all inside with yet more black and blue fluid before the elevator doors finally closed.

Ria slumped against the side of the elevator as she gasped for air. It was several moments before she was able to speak. "Thanks. Was sure... we were about to..."

"Don't mention it." Laura smiled a little at her but let it end there. "So, you guys get what we needed"

Ria's hand shot reflexively for the bag containing the code matrix, ensuring that it was still here. Feeling that it was still there, she let out a small sigh of relief. "Yes, we found a functional Code-Matrix; one that seems to be in better shape than the one Eridu Technology had."

"So things worked out for once? Color me surprised." Laura noted with a small grin.

* * *

"Almost didn't, by horrible space zombies." Ria laughed weakly.

"Speaking of the heroic rescue, how did you know to come after us?" Tarran asked, sounding just as weary as Ria did.

Laura raised an eyebrow with a perplexed look. "We got your SOS, or the Invisible's crew did. They relayed the message."

"How? We weren't able to contact you, or the ship." Ria said, just as confused. "I tried to send a distress signal, but we were too deep underground." The elevator's occupants shared a moment of mutual confusion, but Core broke the silence

"We were responsible for the distress signal. When it was clear you're communicators could not pierce the mile of stone between our position and the surface. This platform is equipped with a miniature quantum entanglement communicator linked to the Invisible. While unable to send complex messages, it is sufficient to communicate basic messages." Core explained.

"Why didn't you tell us? It would've been nice to know backup was coming." Ria asked with a small, exasperated laugh.

"...You didn't ask." Core replied.

**  
Authors Note:** I am going to be taking a week off from writing while I am on spring break, so the next chapter will be three weeks from now rather than two. Sorry about the inconvenience, but I do need to time to relax and recharge.


	26. Chapter 26: Echos of the Reapers

_4/29/2210 _

Tali stared out through the skylight above her at the dark shape of the reaper corpse, a barely visible shadow against the void. She sat utterly still but for the impulsive wringing of her slim hands as her mind pictured a thousand different horrible fates that might befall her lifemate.

Shaking her head to clear the images, she felt again a urge to simply get up and go to him, but she heard Garrus beside her, shifting on his spot on the couch. She knew he wouldn't let her go, and in her state she couldn't resist him. Not that he would be wrong, as her injuries would make her more of a liability than anything, but the urge was powerful nonetheless.

_Don't even think about it,_ Tali scolded herself forcing her gaze away from the dark shape looming beyond the window. _He will be fine, t-there won't be any need. And even if there is, you going will only make things worse. _

She told herself these and other arguments again and again, but no amount of reasoning managed to dissuade the overpowering urge to rush to her lifemate's side, to protect him no matter the cost to her own safety.

Suddenly the floor beneath her swayed violently as a wave of crackling energy rolled of the vessel. She gripped the bed as the the entire ship shook as if struck by a massive projectile. The lights flickered but stabilized quickly as the turbulence died down.

With swiftness that surprised even her, Tali found herself on her up on her feet the instant the surge of energy had passed.

"EDI! What's going on?!" She snapped. She was answered immediately by the resident A.I.

"A wave of energy emanating from the Reaper's core just passed over our hull, with the resulting power surge damaging our external sensors and some of the Normandy's non-critical systems. Before they went offline, I detected several of the Reaper's own systems coming online. I have no further analysis other than that it appears to be... waking up."

"...What did you say? Waking up?" Garrus' voice sounded strange, and had a tone to it she thought she'd never heard before. A tone of fear.

"That is correct. Ga-"

"No, it shouldn't be correct! We killed those damn things! How could it possibly be coming back on?" Garrus was gripping the side of the couch so hard his talons were starting to tear the material and his eyes stared at EDI's speaker like he wanted to bash it in.

"Evidence points to the contrary. Fortunately it appears that only its internal systems are currently functioning, and that it most likely is still immobile. The few readings I received also showed minimal functionality in most active-"

"How, EDI!? How can it be turning back on!?" Garrus demanded, interrupting the AI again.

Before the AI could answer, Tali spoke up, her eyes meeting Garrus' as she replied. "The Reaper was at the edge of the crucible's blast. When John found it five years ago, many of its systems were still active. But, it was essentially brain dead then. He must have done something..." She trailed off as her mind went through everything she remembered about Reaper systems and what he might have touched to rouse the monstrosity.

Garrus was utterly still for a moment, before his eyes snapped to her's for several heartbeats. "I shouldn't have let him go..." He whispered. His voice trailing off before repeating himself, this time growling the words in a harsh tone. "Spirits! I shouldn't have let him go in there alone!"

Another second passed as neither of them moved a muscle. Time seemed to slow as they each fought internally over what to do. Tali broke the trance first, snapping up her omni-tool from where it lay at her bedside. Sliding it over her wrist she practically sprinted over to a duffel bag sitting under a desk and began tearing through its contents. She hissed in pain as she moved too fast, but powered through it, not letting something as unimportant as pain stop her from reaching Shepard before something awful happened.

It only took her a few seconds to find what she was looking for, retrieving her shotgun and arc pistol from the bag. Securing them in place on the magnetic clips holstered built into her suit, she hesitated for a split second before reaching back into the bad to withdraw a handful a arc grenades which she began clipping to her belt.

"Are you sure about this? You're still pretty banged up Tali." Garrus sounded odd still, but the concern could be heard clearly through the alien tone of fear.

"The love of my life is on that Reaper, Garrus. I'm sure." She had no idea where her confidence had come from, but she did her best to not look doubtful as she double checked her weapons.

_I am __**not **__losing him again._

_**. . . . .**_

Shepard's vision blurred as the face of energy rolled over him, a thick smothering shadows gripping hold of his consciousness like a vice. He fell limp as his body refuted to listen to commands his mind sent it. The lights scattered around the room detonated in bursts of sparks, the room plunging into utter dark even as landed face first on the cold floor.

For how long he lay there, Shepard could not tell. He felt as though he had fallen into a place where time had no meaning, a eternity and a instant seeming to pass simultaneously. All sensation had fled from his mind, leaving nothing but confusion and fear to replace it. He struggled, trying to move, to think, to do anything!

Then he suddenly felt that he was no longer alone, that another presence was now touching his mind. It moved in closer, circling around his like a constricting snake. Something broke through the darkness, without warning becoming horribly clear. Six gold eyes filled with malice and contempt stared at him, its gaze promising only annihilation.

"_YOU CANNOT ESCAPE US, SHEPARD"_

_No!_

With a sudden jerk, reality came crashing back into him, his eyes snapping open. He was laying face down, the metal scaffolding cold against his face. It was dark and everything hurt, his head throbbed painfully. Resisting the urge to vomit, Shepard raised his head with a groan.

He only managed to rise a few inches before he stopped suddenly as a dozen screeching sounds rising up all around him that sent ripples of fear through him In the dark, shapes began to materialize, dozens of lifeless glowing blue eyes that hungered for his death. His heart froze as he stared back at the cold, dead eyes staring at it from the blackness, faint snarls and hisses rising up over the gloom. _Get up, get up! A desperate _voice in his head screamed, desperately urging him to move.

Without warning the creatures lunged at him from dark, blade claws the size of his forearm simmering in what little light remained as they fell toward him. His body responded sluggishly to the frantic commands his mind sent it, but either through speed of movements where reflexes failed or through blind luck, the spectre rolls just out of range of the first attack. The creature's claws digging ragged gashed into the metal he had lain upon a instant before.

Half scrambling, half rolling, he desperately tried to put distance between him and the encircling silhouettes of the abominable creatures. Panicked, Shepard reached for his rifle only to realize he had dropped it but moments before when the wave of energy has washed over him and now lay out of reach.

Normally the spectre would have instantly gone for one of his other weapons, but whether it was fear or some insidious effects of the disorientating energy emanating from the strange device but feet away, Shepard found thinking clearly an impossible task. It took his sluggish mind moments hesitation to finally reach for his sidearm, a split second delay that cost him. Another of the creatures darted forward with unnatural speed, dagger-like claws shooting for the spectre's throat. He threw himself into a dodge all to slow, sharp, burning agony shooting up his chest as blades sliced through his armor like it was made of tissue paper.

Letting out a stifled cry of pain, Shepard's pistol cleared his holster, snapping up to point between the monster's eyes. There was a bang and a shower of gore as the thing's head exploded, showering him with blood and brain-matter as it fell back headless.

Ignoring the burning pain that intensified with every moment, Shepard spun and took aim of the shadowy shapes just at the edge of his field of vision. Not daring to wait until they come closer, Shepard opened fire, three echoing bangs echoing out one after another as he emptied the weapon's remaining clip in mere seconds. With each shot brief flashes of light illuminated the area, granting the spectre glimpses of the attacking creatures.

He saw again the very same monsters that had haunted his dreams for the past five years, abominations melding twisted ruined flesh and lifeless cybernetics. Spikes a black metal jutted out of old, open wounds dripping black icor, dark gray metal clear against pale, dead flesh. No two of the husk-creatures were the same, each taking on different twisted and horrible shapes. Some sported dagger like claws, others fangs and saw like teeth. Some were larger than any living human, hulking shapes covered in gleaming black metal: while others were small, blades and spikes jutting out from every limb and joint.

_How did any of these things survive! The council sent another team shortly after my mission to clear out the rest of these things, the reports said it was a success! _Shepard thought as he slapped a fresh thermal clip into place. Even as a voice in his head screamed in panicked disbelief, a part of him knew the answer was one he has feared since he stepped foot on this god-forsaken place. Some of them must have been hiding in the depths of the Reaper's corpse: it wouldn't have been hard for sections of the place to have gone overlooked by the team that had come here after him.

His gun clicking empty once, Shepard fumbled for a thermal clip, desperately trying to reload before he was overrun by the monstrosities encircling him like a pack of wolves. For all his cybernetically enhanced speed, he was too slow. Another creature sprung out of the darkness in a blur of motion as it struck at him. The attack struck his hand, claws digging into his forearm and knocking the pistol from his grasp. He grunted in pain but rolled with the hit, using the momentum to roll away from the thing. He came up a few feet away and looked around quickly, trying to find something, anything that could save him.

His eyes found the airlock door from the way he'd come in, and he ran for it, the creature screaming with glee at the hunt as it bounded toward him. Diving inside the doors he quickly slapped the button for the airlock cycle to begin. Just as the doors began to close,the monster tore through the gap, letting the doors shut behind it with a hiss as it was locked in with him.

The thing lunged for him immediately, moving so fast that not even a machine could've responded fast enough. Sharp pain tore through him as the creature's fangs clamped down on his forearm with a crunch of cracking armor. Acting on reflex he slammed his boot into the thing once, twice, three times. The third kick dislodged the abomination, sending it staggering back a step. Snarling in a mix of anger and pain, he charged forward, his omni-blade forming seconds before it plunged into the creature's neck. Drawing his hand back he stabbed again and again, black blood splattering him, only stopping when his foe had ceased moving.

Panting heavily, Shepard staggered back and slumped against the nearest wall. The room spun and his vision grew unfocused, his body wracked with uncontrollable shaking as unnatural fear came over him. Dimly he was aware that he no longer felt pain coming from his wounds, and that the hand he held against his side glistened with blood as he pulled it away.

He heard a beep from his omni-tool, and looked down with bleary eyes to see it flashing his medi-gel counter at him. His suit had apparently been using medi-gel on him, and he could feel it's effects already. A slight bouncy-ness, almost as if he were high, and a another feeling he never associated with medi-gel... calm. He looked over his suit's medical scanner and saw it had injected him with a small amount of muscle relaxer. His body had been fluctuating so badly from his fright coupled with blood loss that he had apparently been about to go into shock.

With a groan he forced himself to his feet, a action he regretted immediately as wave of vertigo hit him. Putting a hand on the wall to steady himself, the spectre waited until this lightheadedness receded before pushing away as he began to frantically consider his next move.

His first instinct was to find a way out and escape while he had a chance. But no, that wasn't an option. He had destroy this place, the council deciding not to was a mistake he couldn't risk repeating.

Shepard looked down at himself and saw not his bloody and battered body, but nights of nightmares and sleeplessness. This ship and it's horrors had haunted him for years, and quite frankly, he was tired of it.

_This damn ship is going down, whether the council likes it or not._

**. . . . .**

With a faint woosh of stale air and a thud, the shuttle touched down on the open area just inside of the colossal machine. Not even waiting for the shuttles thrusters to completely die down Tali sprung to her feet, ignoring the spike of pain that shot through her back at the sudden movement. She brushed past the hand Garrus held out in signel for her to wait, striding past without giving any heed to the turian or any of the other members of the Normandy crew who were accompanying them.

Throwing the hatch open, she leapt down to land heavily on the smooth black surface below, the clatter of her feet against the metal joined by a sharp click as she pumped her shotgun. The sounds were magnified by the sharp angles of the obsidian-like material that made up much of the Reaper's innards, the echoes impossibly seeming to grow louder as they reverberated around the chamber.

"Woah, I know the plan was to go in guns blazing, but I think that maybe we should avoid making unnecessary noise" Kaidan said, speaking in a hushed tone as he exited the shuttle.

"Agreed, it would be wise to not draw undue attention to our presence until we engage hostiles" EDI agreed as she, stepping out of the vehicle after Kaidan.

"No." Tali responded tersely. "Quiet will take too long, we are getting to Shepard _**now**_."

"I'm all for stealth and ambushes, but I'd have to agree with Tali on this one." Garrus clicked the safety of his rifle off as he spoke, pausing to close the shuttles hatch behind him. "If we want to help Shepard, reckless abandon might be the best plan for once."

"There's a difference between-"

Whatever Kaidan has been going to say was cut off as a chorus of inhuman screams echoed from somewhere ahead of them, the echos of which carried on long after the initial sound had died down.

The four of them stood rooted to the spot for a handful of heartbeats, eyes flashing between darkened corners that seemed to promised to hold enemies just waiting to strike. Tali felt her eyes widen at the noise, remembering John's descriptions of the creatures he had fought years ago. Overwhelming fear for her life mate's safety crashed over her, and she sprung forward before any of the others could react and sprinted off in the direction the cries had come from.

Garrus exchanged looks with Kaidan and EDI before he shrugged and motioned for them to follow her into the dark corridors.

**. . . . .**

Slowly Shepard peered around the corner, darting back out of sight when he caught of glimpse of indistinct shapes within the shadow-cloaked scaffolding ahead. Moving slowly so that he made not even the smallest of sounds, the spectre slowly lifted the Harrier he had looted from one of the dead Cerberus soldiers up into a firing position.

He mentally pictured the positions of the few enemies he had glimpsed, it only taking a handful of seconds for him to formulate his plan of attack. His eyes narrowing with a focused rage he had not felt in decades, the first human spectre took a long, slow breath.

With a lightning quick motion he leapt from cover, a burst of rounds catching one of the creatures in the back of the head. Before it even hit the ground he had already moved on to the next creature, pumping half a dozen bullets into the torso of second standing but a yard to his left. Striding towards the creature as he fired, he snapped his leg up in a blur of motion: the kicking sending the injured abomination tumbling back over the edge of the platform.

Out of the corner of his eye he saw one of the creatures aim of bloated, misshaped arm at him; the limp appearing to contain an integrated weapon similar to what cannibals had. Which a high pitched whine the creature's weapon belched stream of small metal spikes, the projectiles glowing like embers in the dark.

Keeping low, Shepard darted to the side. Red-hot shards of metal struck the floor inches behind him as he rushed forward with cybernetically enhanced speed. Moving at an angle perpendicular to the foe's line of fire, the spectre retaliated with a torrent of gunfire of his own. The creature spasmed as assault rifle tore through it before it fell twitching in a pool of inky black blood.

Sliding to a stop behind cover as his gun clicked empty, Shepard slung the weapon back over his back, yanking two grenades from his belt. Juggling them so he held a single explosive in each hand, he primed both grenades as he leapt back out of cover and tossed both one after another into a grouping of shapes ahead. Two bangs echoed throughout the chamber, shrapnel tearing apart the handful of husk-creatures caught in the blasts.

Drawing the talon pistol he had taken from another of the dead Cerberus soldiers, Shepard stood his ground as the remaining creatures leapt at him with claws bared. Waiting until the first was mere feet away, Shepard snapped the weapon up between him and the creature. A tight grouping of pellets tore into the first creature, blowing a ragged hole through its shoulder. He fired again as the thing staggered; the second take sending falling to the floor in a crumpled heap.

Again and again he fired, point blank shots from the talon dropping two more of the charging monstrosities. The weapon clicking empty, Shepard caught movement in his peripheral vision as a one of the creatures leapt at him. It tackled him to the ground before he could react, and within second it was on top of him with claws and fangs flashing in the dark.

He felt searing hot spikes of pain as the abomination's claws dug into his shoulders and chest that left deep gouges in their wake. His vision flashed red as pain overwhelmed every other sensation, the spectre struggling to throw off the attacker. Growling with a mix of rage and agony, he slammed the talon into the thing's head with all of his augmented strength in a blow that sent the creature reeling back. Clenching his empty hand into a fist as his omni-blade flared to life, he brought the weapon across in strike that decapitated his foes.

Kicking the creature's now limp body off of him, Shepard rolled to the side just in time to avoid a overhand strike from the large, hulking abomination. Rising into a crouch he lunged at it, his omni-blade sinking a full foot into the thing's side.

The creature didn't die like expected, instead roaring in pain in pain flailing wildly at him. He let out a cry of pain as an arm clipped his side that cracked several ribs. Staggering, he managed to regain his balance just in time to dodge another flailing strike before darting in close to deliver a series of stabs and slashes that finally dropped the hulking creature.

Panting heavily Shepard slowly began to rise, only to be struck by a wave of lightheadedness. He swayed in his feet, every ounce of his focus locked on staying upright. _Keep going, _a voice in his head shouted. Gritting his teeth he took a shaking step forward. _You can't give up, this place needs to burn, no matter the cost. _With a force of will he took another step, then another.

Then, on the fourth step, his strength failed. He fell toward, landing with a thump on the cold, unyielding surface of the catwalk. He struggled to stand, pushing against the ground with all his might. He managed to lift himself up a foot before collapsing face down once more.

Faintly he heard a murmur of inaudible whispers inside his head, followed by a soft, deep voice that carried over all of the others. "_**Why do you resist Shepard, you know that you can never escape us. You are nothing compared to our might. We are-"**_

"_-either nothing more than a figment of my already questionable sanity; or at the worst a half dead Reaper I'm about to blow out of the sky." _

"_**You delude yourself. Serve us or die, bleeding in agony as you are slowly torn apart"**_

"Go to hell." He spat. "Better yet, I'll send you there myself."

With a force of will Shepard urged his failing body to action. He rolled to his side, the movement causing lances of agony to surge through him. Fumbling at a pouch at his belt, he withdrew a tube of meti-gel, the end capped with a long, sharp needle. Weakly his lifted his up and with one last surge of strength, plunged it into a injection port in the side of his suit.

Slowly he felt the pain of his numerous wounds begin to dull, and the blood slowly pooling under him ceased expanding. Soon some of his strength began to return as the miraculous substance worked its magic.

With what seemed like a momentous struggle, he rose to a crouch, snapping up the talon from where it lay next to him. Clicking a fresh thermal clip into place, the spectre slowly began to rise to his feet. During the movement he clenched his left hand: the orange glow of his omni-blade casting a fiery light over the man.

Standing at his full height he caught sight of movement, seeing a score of the creatures in the shadows beyond. Slowly they moved to encircle him, hissing and growling as they moved, but none made any move to attack.

"Well, I'm waiting."

With a shriek, one of the husks leapt at him, the blade-like spike jutting from where its hand should have been arcing down towards his skull. He flung himself to the side, trying the avoid the strike even as he hacked at the thing with his own weapon. He was too slow to completely avoid the attack, the blade cutting a shallow gash across his shoulder and down an arm, even as his own blade stabbed clean through the creature's torso. Clenching his teeth as the fresh pain rolled over him, he impaled his blade in the husk's chest before violently tearing it free. The creature fell at his feet a moment later.

"Heh. That all you bastards got?" He growled weakly at the remaining creatures. Pausing he spat out a glob of blood onto the ground with a grim smile. "Come on. Lets finish this."

With what little strength he had left, Shepard threw himself at the creatures encircling him. He omni-blade moved in a blur of orange light as it cut into two of the husks in a single arc. Ducking under a swiping claw he hacked at the abomination's leg before shoving his weight against it, sending the now one legged creature sprawling.

Catching movement in the corner of his eye, the spectre spun just in time to see a husk leaping at him. Frantically he flung himself into movement, managing to put his weapon between him and the creature even as it fell upon him. Even as the creature's momentum impaled it on his omni-blade, the impact sent him staggering.

Fighting to keep his balance, Shepard regained his footing just as a claw struck him in the shoulder, the force of the blow driving him to one knee. With a cry that mixed burning agony and defiant rage, the first human spectre twisted an drove his blade into the creature's neck with a crack of snapping bones of a spray of ink-like blood.

Just then he felt a solid blow land on his back, knocking him down onto all fours. Stars flashed before his vision as he sat there dazed. Fighting to regain focus, he caught a blur of motion in the corner of his eye too late to dodge another attack that smashed into his shoulder with enough force to crack his armor and send him falling to his side.

He gasped for air, coughing up blood as he did so. Slowly he watched as the abomination loomed over him, the creature drawing its arm back to strike. He tried to move but found that his broken body had no more strength to spend, and could only watch as arm descended towards his skull.

He saw his home, sitting on the cliffside on Rannoch. The sun shining through the large window and on him and his family as they sat around the table was still a child, and she was frowning as she attempted to learn Kheelish. Tali laughed softly at the words her daughter would say, but always corrected her with a warm smile.

He saw Ria again, much older now; with a gun to her shoulder and a smile on her face as she practiced with him on the range. And Tali would occasionally join them, motioning excitedly as they reeled in the shot scores.

All this passed through his mind in a flash as time slowed around him. He closed his eyes and stopped watching the claw come for him.

"_I'm sorry Tali, Ria... so sorry"_

There was a bang that echoed through the chamber like a clap of thunder. A spray of blood burst from the creature's chest as it staggered. Confused, Shepard lay there motionless, not even finding the strength to turn his head to who or what had rescued him. Then, over the rising chorus of screeches that rose up from the horde of monstrous abominations, he heard the most beautiful sound he could possibly imagine, a sound that made his heart leap and bought a cracked and bloody smile to his face.

"Go get them Chiktikka!"

**. . . . .**

Tali's heart froze in her chest as her eyes fell upon her lifemate's limp and bloody form. The world around her grinded to a halt as a cloud of dread fell over her. Without thinking she felt her body move on its own, any thought for herself fleeing in that instant as her entire being was filled with only thoughts of reaching him.

Distantly she was aware of movement all around her, black claws and teeth darting towards her from all sides as she ran to where John lay limply on the ground. The cacophony shrieking cries and shouts that reached her ears somehow seeming muted and far off, these sensations as unimportant as her own safety was. Some part of her dimly registered Garrus's voice, shouting for the others to cover her.

She dropped to her knees, sliding the last few inches as she hooked her arms under John's shoulders. With a heave she hoisted him up off the ground, her muscles burning as she struggled to support the human's weight. The strain sent a jolt of pain through her back, feeling again the same agony of the cold steel biting into her flesh. Her body screamed at her to give in, to let go, to make the pain stop; but she would not, could not. Crying in pain, she took a single step, then another, then another, picking of speed with every movement that would carry her beloved to safety

Bullets buzzed past her as she half carried, half dragged her lifemate back away from the battle. With one last heave she pulled him around a large, heavy crate that provided cover; gently leaning his back against it before kneeling at his side. His body was covered in bloody gashes, his armor cracked in places. Panic filled her as she realised she couldn't tell if he was breathing, her eyes unable to detect even the smallest movements in his limp body.

_No, no, no. Please don't be dead, please don't. _Her hands and shoulders shook as she frantically tore medical supplies from several of the many pouches on her suit. Grasping a medi-gel injector in a trembling hand, she fumbled in search for an injection port in his armor. Finally locating it, she jammed the needle into the port, needing both hands to keep the injector steady. Tossing the empty tube aside, she tore open a cylinder of condensed medi-gel paste and began frantically spreading the substance over the wounds that appeared most life threatening.

She nearly jumped when she felt a hand weakly seize hold of her wrist. Her heart skipped a beat as she her eyes fell upon the bloody and cracked armored hand gently encircling her wrist, relief flowing through her as she lifted her gaze up to his face.

John looked gazed back at her through half-lidded eyes, his lips parting in a weak smile. "I'm sorry," He said in a voice that was barely a whisper. "Should've listened to Garrus... was stupid..."

Gently Tali rested a slim hand again his cheek, silencing him with her touch. "Shhh" She hushed softly, tears of relief pooling at the corner of her eyes. "Hold still, I need to finish..." Lowering her hand, she returned to her work smearing medi-gel over his remaining wounds.

She spread the last of the Medi-gel over his many wounds, and a sharp cough from behind her made her look up for the first time since she'd seen John lying on the floor.

"So, is he gonna live? Because if he didn't, Wrex would never let me hear the end of it."

"Bosh'tet."

"Aside from Shepard being dead, why would Wrex be upset?" Kaidan directed the question at Garrus, who had seen shepard breathing and knew the danger was past, and smiled.

"I still owe him money for a bet." Shepard croaked quietly.

"-And if you died then I would most likely have to pay him for you." Garrus chuckled. His mirth died away quickly as the turian's thoughts appeared to have returned to the situation at hand. "What now? Looks like we're in the clear, but I got a feeling that it won't be long before more of those things show up."

"Agreed, I would recommend we retreat to the Normandy" EDI advised, cutting into the conversation. "While beginning to regain functionality, none of the Reaper's weapons, defenses, or propulsion systems are online. We should have little difficulty destroying it with the Normandy's weapons"

"No... Not enough..." Shepard coughed out weakly, everyone's attention snapping to him as he continued. "Most of it will be intact. Need to... overload drive core...

"...And nuke it from the inside! Given how big Reaper's drive cores are, the explosion would have a far larger yield than the ship's weapons." Tali finished. "John's right... we need to make sure its destroyed completely, no way for Cerberus or anyone else to salvage tech from this place. Shouldn't be too hard, I'm sure I can overload the core given enough-"

"Oh no, you're not coming with. And before you try and argue, neither are you Shepard." Garrus replied sharply, cutting her off before she could respond.

"But you need me to-"

"-EDI can handle it, you're still hurt Tali. Besides, you need to get Shepard to safety. Let me, Kaidan and EDI handle this."

"Awwww, do I have to? I was having so much fun." Shepard slurred, grinning with a chuckle when he finished speaking. The motion made a little more blood trail from his mouth, reminding everyone that he needed medical attention immediately.

"Tali, the way back should be mostly move before more of those things show up. Thats an order." Garrus said sternly.

Nodding, Tali hooked an arm under John's shoulder and hoisted him up off the floor. Her husband winced briefly at the motion, before he laughed once more.

"It _**does**_ make you feel bouncy..."

Tali felt herself smile briefly at his words, and supporting his weight turned back the way she had come. Turning back to look over her shoulder one last time. "Be careful Garrus, don't make me have to come back and rescue you."

"Don't worry so much, this is just warm up."

_**. . . . .**_

It took nearly twenty minutes for Tali to carry Shepard back to the shuttles. Opening the hatch they clambered inside, Tali gently laying Shepard on the floor of the vessel. After a moment of thought, she activated her communicator.

"Garrus, me and John have made it to the shuttle. What's your status?"

"We ran into a bit of resistance, but we're almost to the drive core.. Oh yeah! Tell me you saw that Kaidan!" There was a pause as a burst of gunfire filled the channel. "Take the shuttles and get ready to pick us up. If this derelict Reaper is anything like the last one, there should be way out near us?"

"What about the other shuttle?" Tali asked, glancing out the open hatch and at the other Kodiak Shepard had used to reach the reaper before they had. "I can't exactly pilot both at the same time."

"Crap, forgot about that..." Garrus replied. There was a brief pause before he spoke again. "Just leave it there, I'm sure our budget can cover getting a replacement. Its not like those things don't get shot down every five minutes anyways."

"We'll be right there Garrus." She eased herself into the pilot's seat and powered it on, making sure everything was ok with the craft before she took it out. She took it off the deck of the landing area and launched back into space, trying to remember exactly where the opening was by the reaper core.

"Taking the shot!" Garrus' voice crackled over the radio, and as usual, he wasn't' letting the combat get him down. "EDI, get on that console and set that thing to blow! Me and Kaidan will cover you!"

Pulling up to the small opening on the underside of the Reaper, Tali slowly moved the shuttle inside, dropping it down into confines space inside.

"Done. We have ten minutes before the core detonates." EDI's cool voice came over the radio.

"Wonderful! Kaidan, you first! We'll keep em' off you! Tali? You in position?"

"Way ahead of you Garrus! We're just outside!" Just as she finished speaking the large doors near the core opened, emitting stray rounds as the team shot their way out. Kaidan was the first one through the doors, but he turned immediately and began hurling biotics the way he'd come.

"This feels kinda familiar!" Garrus yelled among the crackle of gunfire. Garrus and EDI barrelled out shortly after, and they all double timed it to the shuttle.

Tali dropped her altitude and got back out of the pilots chair to pop the hatch. Almost immediately after she did all three of them leaped inside, followed by howls of disappointment from the packs of beasts behind them. She slammed the hatch closed, shutting out the sounds from outside and leaving only the heavy breathing from her friends to fill the silence.

"Well, I can officially say... I don't want Shepard's jobs." Kaidan said as he slumped down the wall to sit and rest.

"Spirits Shepard, the jobs we get from the council usually involve pirates or power hungry idiots. Not more damn Reapers."

"Really? I guess the council must still be angry at me... 'bout hanging up on them... every time they call me... to this day... dammit." Shepard laughed weakly, but it quickly devolved into a pained groan. "You'd think I'd learn my lesson by now..."

_Bost'tet_

* * *

_**Authors Note: **_Well, after a week longer then usual, I am back. Looks like the current arc of this story is beginning to come to an end, with only a chapter or two of aftermath/wrap up before the next "arc". We are defiantly bast the half way mark now, so here's where things begin to get a bit interesting.


	27. Chapter 27: Answers

4/29/2210

"So, who here votes we agree to never do that again?" Tarran announced, lazily raising a hand.

"Aye." Both Ria and Kel agreed once after another, both quarians half-heartedly lifting a hand over their head.

It had been just over an hour since they had returned from the prothean ruins on the nameless planet. Despite her team's exhaustion, which only had worsened once the euphoria of successfully retrieving the prothean code matrix; not to mention a dozen other pieces of potentially useful tech, had worn off. Ria had decided to call a meeting to discuss their next move right away.

Of the ground team, only Daron was not currently present due to the serious injuries the mercenary had sustained within the ruins. The idiot was still having his most threatening wounds tended to by the ship's medic.

"Oh come on Vakarian, it couldn't have been that bad." Laura replied, rolling her eyes. "From what I saw, those husks were pushovers."

"Well you were only there for the last bit. Trust me when I say that most of it wasn't fun."

"But they just ran at you while you mowed them down; like shooting fish in a barrel - to use a lame, overused idiom." Laura replied, the soldier's voice taking on a mock-patronizing tone as her grin widened.

"Yes, and when you're a sniper it's not exactly easy to deal with hundreds of enemies charging you all at once, Laura." Tarran retorted dryly. "Especially when they're a bunch of zombies trying to eat your... what was it in all those old, cheesy human vids your people liked to call horror? Hearts? Lungs?"

"Brains. Which means you were never in any danger." Laura scoffed with a smirk.

"Ouch, that hurts my feelings." The turian's mandibles drooped in an comically exaggerated frown, a taloned finger brushing against on eye as if wiping away a tear.

"Speaking of horrible reaper-zombies, I would like to know how any husks still exist to begin with. " Ria interjected, pausing before adding with a smug grin- "That is, if you two lovebirds are done flirting."

"Not a chance even in your strange fantasies Ria; I'm way out of Vakarian's league." Laura replied, sticking her tongue out in disgust at the idea.

"I get no love." Tarran answered with sigh and a slow, dramatic shake of his head.

"You bet." Ria grinned in an overly cheerful tone, much to the chagrin of the turian before asking. "So, how about my question. Core, you have any ideas?"

"We have been running simulations since all of this units run times returned to this vessel and have developed a promising hypothesis to explain this very quandary." Core replied smoothly. While she may have just been imagining things, Ria could have sworn that she detected a hit of smug joy creeping into the geth's voice.

No sooner had the geth finished speaking than a hologram flared to life at the center of the ring of chairs Ria and her team sat at. Blinking, she saw that the hologram was of a galaxy map much like the one in the ship's CIC.

"Using both exiting data from when the Crucible fired, including the maximum radius of the energy released from each relay along with the positions of every known relay we were able to map out the area's of the galaxy affected by the Crucible." Core explained.

As Ria watched a wave of red light expanded out from the dot indicating sol system, followed by lines of red light that shot from each relay to the next. As the light hit each relay, more crimson ripples shot outward, slowly expanding one after another. However, unlike other simulations she had seen of the crucibles effects, the waves of energy did not dissipate after expanding to their maximum radius.

As the animation ended, the galaxy map was covered by hundreds of overlapping red circles. However, Ria was surprised to see dozens of small areas where the light did not seem to reach, "safe zones" against the Old Machine-killing weapon's effects.

"From known data there are an estimate of 157 regions in the galaxy not touched by the energy released by the crucible, making up 0.000001923% overall. However, as the number of currently undiscovered relays is estimated to be in the hundreds, it is likely that the energy coverage was far more thorough. As a consequence, we estimate the number of such regions to be in the range of 10 to 30."

Ria frowned, leaning in closer as she examined the map with thoughtful intent."So the system we're in falls into one of these areas?" She punctuated the statement by jabbing a finger at an unmarked region on the display.

"This is a correct analysis. The unnamed system we are located at this time falls within a region with a volume of approximately 67.718 light-years cubed." A blip of gold light flashed on the map, indicating their location.

"So wait, this could mean that there could still be Reapers out there, doesn't it?" Laura interjected, leaning forward in her seat. Glancing away from the map, Ria saw that her friend's face was twisted into a deep frown that carried something between concern and mild alarm.

"We find this an unlikely possibility. Even taking into account the largest estimate of Old Machine numbers spread evenly throughout the galaxy, the probability of a single Old-Machine surviving come out at approximately 3 to 10400. In tandem, the probability of the prothean ruins in this system being infested with husks is five times less improbable."

"So what you're saying is that what we just went through was unbelievably unlikely. I can't be the only one who finds this doesn't exactly bode well for out luck." Tarran said with a small grin.

"Or at least not try to win the lottery any time soon." Laura added, her frown cracking into a small smirk at the turian's comment. Silence fell over the room as the alliance soldier finished, no one moving to speak. Then at least Laura's voice broke over the silence once more as she shifted in her seat to turn her attention fully on Ria."So, now that we have the Code Matrix, what's the plan?"

At that moment Ria felt that the entire room's attention lay upon her, many eyes with expectation filled gazes locking on her. She frowned behind her mask, eyes cast downward as she wracked her mind for something, anything she could say in answer.

Come on, your their leader. You need to give some sort of direction.

Before Ria's indecisive silence could drag on, Jalin mercifully interjected; answering the human's question for her. "Without an encryption key, our acquirement of the Code Matrix is a moot point. To make use of it, we must either track down a encryption key, or acquire the artificially created work around that Cerberus stole from the Eridu Technologies lab."

Ria shot the salarian a quick, grateful look; to which he replied with a small, curt nod. "Jalin's right, we need an encryption key, one way or another." Ria noted softly, picking up where the lieutenant left off. "The problem is, the more I think about it, the less likely us stumbling upon yet **another** prothean ruin that has an encryption key in it. I think... I think our only option is the one Cerberus stole."

The room fell quiet as Ria finished, the four assembled before her exchanging glances. "You sure thats a good idea? Handling a few strike teams and agents "out in the field" is one thing; but a Cerberus base? Not only will it be more heavily defended, but we'd likely be more heavily outnumbered than usual: not to mention the advantage of them simply being on their home turf." Laura frowned, biting her lower lip. "I mean, we're good; but this could be way outside our ability."

"This whole damn thing has been "way outside our ability." so I don't see what the problem is." Tarran countered, crossing his arms over his chest. "As the matter stands, we're low on options: and a full frontal assault is the last thing those bastards will expect. Besides, I think its time we hit them back. We've run away and given too much ground already."

"I'm not saying it shouldn't be done, just that we need to think about if its worth the risks." The human countered, her frown deepening.

Ria bit her lip as she considered the question for a moment before answering. "I'm not going to commit to anything right now. Until we can either locate whatever Cerberus stronghold they are keeping Eridu Tech's decryption software in, or the location of the actual encryption key, nothing is set in stone."

The young quarian paused in her speech. Shutting her eyes, she sucked in a breath of air and gathered up her courage before speaking again. "But... if it does come down to us having to assault a Cerberus base, I need to know that you'll be behind me. Don't mistake me, I know the risks..." She trailed, off, swallowing down the doubt that had begun to rise up in her throat. "But I... We've, come too far to let that stop us from doing what needs to be done."

No one spoke for several seconds, before Tarran's deep voice broke the quiet. "I've got your back, Ria. Always have, always will." The turian paused, a smirk dazing across his features. "Well, not if you decide do something really, really stupid: but thats besides the point."

No sooner had the turian finished, Jalin took his turn to answer. Even though he spoke in his typical fast-paced speech, the salarian somehow sounded cautious and thoughtful as he formed each word."Your proposition is a risky one, but I believe you are right in that it will likely prove the only viable course of action. We knew that we would be called upon to take risks when we agreed to take up this mission, I am with you."

"I-I'm with you too." Kel broke in after a moments pause, the small quarian fidgeting in his seat a spoke. "I've already come this far, I.. I'm not going to stop now." Even though he spoke in a shaky, nervous voice; the quarian's voice carried in it resolve and determination that drew wide-eyed looks of surprise from the rest of the room. Only Jalin seemed unsurprised, the salarian giving the smallest of smiles as the quarian finished speaking.

Dipping her head in thanks, Ria looked back toward Laura. "So now that everyone's answered but you, what do you say? I need to know if you'll follow me."

"Is that even a question" Laura scoffed, flashing a smirk. "I may be a pessimist, but no way am I going to abandon a friend just because of some damned risks. Someone had to play devil's advocate and make sure you fully got what we'd been up against."

Ria smiled, blinking rapidly as she felt moisture building at the corners of her vision. She had expected that none of them would dare back down now; but resolve and complete willingness of her team to follow her despite the danger had honestly taken her aback.

Dammit Ria, nows not the time to get all touchy feely. What kinda of leader breaks down into tears in the middle of a debriefing.

Swallowing down the lump building in her throat, the young quarian spoke in a tone she hopped wasn't completely overcome with emotion. "Good, thank you. I'll send word to Liara as soon as I can, see if she can help us locate wherever Cerberus is holding the description software they stole. I-"

"The message has just been relayed to Doctor T'Soni, Creator-Shepard" Core interjected, cutting her off.

"Thank you Core." Ria nodded in thanks to the disembodied voice, before picking up where she left off. "Now... In the meantime, we should all get some rest. Thats an order by the way." She shot glares at both Tarran and Laura, knowing full well both of her friends would likely instead try to do something "useful" or "practical" even if it meant sending themselves into a further state of sleep deprivation. "Its going to be a few days at least before we head back out again, and I want everyone to be at there best when we do.

Her crew evidently taking her words as a signal that the meeting had come to a close, they one by one stood and made to leave. Pushing herself to her feet, Ria turned to leave as well, only to come to a stop as Kel stepped forward.

"Do y-you mind if I ask... make a request" Kel asked, fidgeting as he stood in place.

"Of course not! what do you need Kel?"

"Well... well I know you ordered us to-to get rest, but the ship's drive core still needs some routine maintenance done, and there's a small irregularity with the ventilation system in the cargo bay that needs looking into, and-"

"Kel, normally I would say that you can do whatever you want; but in this case, seriously, get some rest." Ria replied, resting the faceplate of her helmet against her forearm wearily.

"But-"

"You've been awake since yesterday trying fix every little problem on the ship. You were falling asleep on the shuttle ride back for ancestor's sake. Get some sleep, Core can deal with the maintenance."

"It would be prudent that you heed Ria's advice." Jalin called back from where he stood just outside the door, having evidently stopped to wait for the two quarians. "You must be well rested before our biotic training session early tomorrow morning, else it will be... unpleasant, to say the least."

For a moment Ria thought that Kel was going to continue arguing, but after a moments of hesitation the young quarian let out a sigh and dipped her head in surrender. "All right, I'll get some rest."

"Good, because if you didn't I was going to have Tarran or Laura knock you out" Ria joked cheerily as she turned away an headed towards the door. Stepped through the opening, she hesitated a moment before deciding to go off to get some rest her self. _Better heed my own advice, wouldn't want to be hypocritical, now would I?_

**. . . . .**

"Creator Ria, a situation has arisen that requires your intimidate attention." Core's announced suddenly, the geth's neutral tone somehow sounding mildly nearly leapt out of her seat in surprise at the geth's voice's sudden intrusion. It had been just over an hours since she had retired to her quarters with the intention of getting some sleep. But after a half an hour of restless tossing and turning she had finally given up and decided to occupy herself with repairing the minor damage her omni-tool had received over the past few weeks.

"What is it? What happened?" Ria asked, pushing herself to her feet (of course, more slowly then she had almost done moments before), careful not to know the dissembled parts of her omni-tool that lay scattered around the desk.

"Twenty-three minutes and seventeen seconds ago Daron left the medical bay and entered the ship's cargo bay; where he began throwing the bay's contents with his biotics. At first this action was no more disruptive then Lieutenant-Kalerihn 's and Creator-Kel'Valah's training exercising, but Daron's biotic exertions grew more destructive at the same rate as the frequency of emotional outbursts and has already damaged several crates containing valuable supplies." Core explained smoothly, falling silent for a brief span before adding- "I have already attempted to ask that he cease these actions, but he responded to the few requests he did not ignore with threats of violence against this unit."

"Keelah, like I needed this." Ria growled, spinning around and hurrying out of her quarters without pause.

"Core, tell the rest of the crew to stay clear of the cargo bay and let me handle this. I'd rather not have to deal with anymore corpses today." Ria ordered as she stepped into the elevator and slammed a fist against the control panel. _Now I need to just make sure I don't end up a corpse myself._

**. . . . .**

The elevator shook as something large and heavy struck the wall next to it, forcing Ria to brace against the wall to stead herself. A second later the lift lurched to a halt as it descended the last foot between it on the cargo bay. As the doors whooshed open, Ria cursed herself for not having grabbed a weapon other than her pistol on her way down. Lets just hope it doesn't have to come to that. Sucking in a breath through clenched teeth, Ria steeled herself and strode into the cargo bay.

Daron stood at the center of the room facing away from her, his body alight with an aura of dark energy. All around him dozens of crates and supply boxes lay scattered, while others lay in ruined heaps where the mercenary had smashed them against walls. Pulling a hand back if to strike, the mercenary let loose a howl of rage and frustration as he lashed out at a trio of crates nearest to him. The resulting shock wave slammed into the containers, throwing them back nearly two dozen feet to shatter against the bulkhead and spill their contents on the bay's floor.

The biotic fell to one knee, a hiss of pain escaping his lips. His left hand shot for his still outstretched arm, clutching it as if in pain.

"Daron! Stand down! Thats an order!" Ria shouted at the top of her lungs, stomping forwards towards the human.

With alarming speed the man rose to his feet at spun at her, his arm moving in a slashing arc as he turned. An azure glow encircled a container as it lifted off the floor and shot towards her. Ria moved just in time, sidestepping the clumsily thrown projectile which sailed past and impacted the elevator doors with a crash.

Drawing her gun, Ria took aim at the space next to the side and above the mercenary's head, letting loose a single shot that echoed throughout the space like a clap of thunder. "I said stand down, Daron! That's your last warning!"

For a heart beat neither of them moved as Ria's narrowed eyes met the mercenary's. At first the only thing Ria saw in the human's eyes was the same cold anger she had grown to expect; but as the moments passed she noticed something else lurking in his gaze. Behind the wall of seething fury she saw a mix of pain, frustration, and most shockingly, fear. Fear like that which she'd seen back in the prothean ruins just hours before.

At last Daron spoke, his voice hoarse as if he had been screaming. "What're going to do? Shoot me?" Any other time Ria suspected that those very words would have carried an unspoken threat, but now only sounded cold and distant; as if the possibly of being killed didn't concern him.

"Give me a good reason why I shouldn't." Ria answered, keeping her weapon trained on the biotic.

"You should, would be doing yourself a favor." Daron answered coldly, letting the vortex of biotic energy around him fade away.

Slowly Ria lowered her weapon back down to her side, her eyes still centered on the man before her. "I've just about had enough of putting up with you on this damn mission. All you've done is cause problems, and I'm sick of it. If you want to be part of this team, I need answers."

Daron huffed in mild amusement, whether at her demanding tone or something else she couldn't tell, but he complied.

"Sure, why the hell not. Just about getting tired of chucking boxes around anyway." He sat down on one of the ruined crates facing her, leaning back casually while he waited for her.

Opting to stay standing, Ria crossed her arms as she regarded the mercenary; considering her question for a handful of seconds before speaking.

"For starters, I need to know what your history with Cerberus is. You let it slip a few times that you wanted payback for something."

"Where do I even begin. I know, the part where a so called refuge from the Reapers ended up being a Cerberus lab? Or maybe the part where I was implanted with Reaper tech because they found out I was a potential biotic?" Daron shot her a glare as he finished speaking, before averting his gaze towards the ground.

"What happened?" Ria asked simply. She'd heard about Horizon of course, from both history lessons and personally from her parents, but even the horror stories they had told did not account for the look in his eye. When he finally did speak, she was shocked that his voice didn't contain any anger.

"Was five when the Reapers attacked the colony. Nice small farming planet at the edge of alliance space. Don't remember much about what happened, only that there were husks... lots of husks. I was one of the few who made it to the cargo ship at the outpost docks. A dozen others, maybe more."

Ria remembered the mercenary's panic as husks had swarmed around them, his frantic biotic attacks and his overpowered use that left him drained earlier than it should have. "Is that why..." She started to ask, cutting herself off as she realized the question would probably just get Daron angry, and possibly stop speaking."

He winced at her words, halting in his speech before pushing onward. "I didn't understand at the time, but the other refugees I was with knew we were cut from the few remaining alliance colonies. I remember a few of them arguing about it, but in the end it was decided we make for a place call Sanctuary that was supposed to be safe from the Reapers..."

He fell silent once more, shifting uncomfortably before speaking again, his voice thick. "We were desperate and stupid... not that I had any say in the matter. I was a dumb kid who just did what he was told. If only we'd known. Hah!" He let loose a short, almost hysterical laugh. "Known that most of them would be rounded up and turned into husks as part of twisted experiments. Unless of course, you were lucky enough for them to find out you were a biotic. Adult had the pleasure of being transformed into phantoms, getting stuffed full of cybernetics and brainwashed until their identity was stripped away."

"And children?" Ria asked, a sick sensation forming at the pit of her stomach as posed the question, already suspecting the answer.

"Any kids who were found to potentially be biotics were implanted with reaper tech to try and create more powerful biotics. Most were lucky and died as a result of the implants, saving them from a waking hell..." The mercenary trailed off, his eyes squeezing shut as fighting against some painful memory. He nearly motionless as seconds crawled by, the only movement the grinding of clenched teeth.

"Is that why your-" Ria prompted hesitantly, her curiosity overriding any concerns at angering the biotic.

"Why my biotics are as strong as they are? Yes, yes it is" Daron spat, cutting of her question. In a smooth motion he pulled the sleeve of his shirt back, exposing the bare skin just above his forearm. Against the ghostly pale skin Ria could see a web of faint lines of black cybernetic implants running down the length of his arm in a twisting pattern.

As if in demonstration, the human clenched his hand as a weak biotic aura flared to life around his hand. At first Ria noticed no change other then the aura's appearance, but then saw that faintly splotches of blue light could be seen dotting the web of implants running beneath the mercenary's skin.

The lights dimmed out as he released the biotic field, pulling his sleeve back up his arm and let his arm fall back to his side. 54"I was sedated for most of the time, during which Cerberus ran numerous medical tests interspersed with surgery to implant more tech or modify existing cybernetics. The few times I remember being conscious were nothing more then and indistinct haze of pain."

Ria shuddered, imaging what it must have been like to feel all that horrid tech wormed into his flesh. She remembered how she had felt following the surgery needed to install the handful of cybernetics needed to interface with her adult suit. And this was done to a child! I always knew Cerberus were bad, but how could anyone even think... The feeling of... wrongness, that not all of her body was actually "hers", that something unnatural had been added. It had taken her weeks to get used to the idea of just a few implants. "If you had that much Reaper tech installed, how did you survive? I thought the Crucible killed anything with Reaper tech?"

"All I remember was a red light passing over me then... agony. Agony that make all the pain from before feel like it was nothing." He twisted into a grimace of pain as he spoke: his knuckles turning stark white as his fingers tightly gripped the edge of the crate. "Pain like my veins had turned to molten led, and were searing me from the inside out..."

Daron trailed off once more. He laughed painfully as he shook his head as if trying to clear his mind of unwanted thoughts and memories."As your your question, ask Cerberus; they're the only ones who can tell you. Maybe it was just dumb chance. Either way only a handful of others besides myself survived, and all of us were in critical condition. To try and salvage such 'valuable assets' we were put in stasis pods until they could figure out how to repair the implants without killing us. The least promising subjects were woken up first, so they could learn from any mistakes before risking the more valuable 'experiments'."

"How long?" Ria asked bluntly, averting her gaze as she spoke, finding it too difficult to keep looking at the pain within the man's eyes.

"Two years, maybe more. Hell, I still can't be sure exactly. I was one of the last ones they woke up. In the end, there were only seven "successes". By that point it wasn't even Cerberus anymore, just another splinter group... didn't stop them from continuing the experiments."

Daron's face was at first twisted in anger at his words, but as he wound down his features changed. His eyes lost their fire, fading into deep pools of sadness as his memories kept rushing into his mind. His posture slumped, making him look utterly drained and tired.

For a time she stood silently across from him, neither of them moving as seconds began to trickle into minutes. As it became more and more clear that the biotic wasn't going to finish, Ria found herself torn. Her curiosity urged her to press the man to continue, the prospect of stopping now was almost painful for her inquisitive mind. But seeing his weary, empty gaze made her decision for her. He was clearly in pain to the point of depression, and pressing further now would just end badly, with him either getting angry or becoming unresponsive with sorrow.

"If its too painful, you don't have to keep going." Ria offered softly, turning her gaze away.. No answer left his lips as he stared at the floor.

Somberly, Ria turned and began walked back towards the elevator. Reaching up to press the call button for the lift, Ria froze as a faint, hoarse voice called behind her. "For what its worth, thank you... for saving me back there."

Turning back, Ria nodded slowly in acceptance of his words. Behind her the elevator dinged as the doors slid open with a hiss.

"Why'd you even take that risk for me?" The man asked, his gaze still on the floor.

"You're part of my crew. " She replied simply as she turned away and stepped inside the lift and the doors shut behind her.


	28. Chapter 28: Wherever you go

_4/30/2210_

Tali wrung her hands in a tangle of fidgeting fingers as she paced nervously outside the Normandy's med-bay. Every so often she paused, peering up at the opaque window of the room beyond for any sign of movement. _Keelah, when will those bosh'tets let me in to see him? Its been two days... ancestors, maybe somethings happened and they don't. No. No, stop that Tali, don't even think that. He's fine, they just want to make sure there's no complications._

In the time since she and Garrus had brought Shepard into the med bay for treatment over a day ago, she had spent all her time waiting outside, either pacing restlessly or sitting hunched against the wall that stood between her and the room where her love was receiving medical attention. For the most part none of the other crew had bothered her, except for the few occasions where Garrus or Kaidan had come by to tell her she needed to sleep; as if she would, could even think of that until she knew her _hesh'la _would be alright.

As if her body was mocking her, Tali felt a wave of exhaustion wash over her. Wearily, she ceased her pacing and slumped down against a bulkhead, wrapping her arms around her knees. Fighting the urge to slip off into sleep, she gazed at her surroundings for the first time in several hours. It was early in the morning of the day after John's disastrous mission aboard the derelict Reaper. Most of the crew was likely still asleep save for those on the night shift; the shift deathly silent but for the faint hum of the drive core.

Suddenly, Tali jolted upright as the hiss of the med-bay's doors opening reach her ears. Turning around, she saw that the ship's medic, a brown haired woman by the name of Doctor Harre, standing half in the doorway as she leaned out/ "Ms. Shepard, your husband is ready for pick up. Normally I'd just let him leave on his own, but since I'm convinced he's not been listening to, or will end up ignoring, any of the instructions I just gave him, I think I better go over it again with you."

Nodding as the woman disappeared back inside, Tali had to resist the urge to sprint as she made her way over and slipped inside the room. Looking around, Tali saw that the room had changed very little in the past few decades, with only a few newer pieces of medical equipment standing out as different from how she remembered it.

Tearing her gaze away from the room's contents, Tali's eyes moved to fall upon her lifemate. Linen bandages crisscrossed her arms of torso, so numerous that there was more white cloth visible than skin. John however, seemed unbothered by the countless injuries covering his body, idly picking at one of the bandages as he sat on one of the medical tables. The quarian felt her worry and concern lessen somewhat as he, taking notice of her presence, flashed her a warm, reassuring smile.

A relief filled smile spread over her lips as she made her way over to where he sat, taking hold of the large, calloused hand he held out for her. Even through her suit she savored the feeling of his warm touch. As if reading her thoughts, she felt his hand close to gently squeezing her own slim hand in reassurance that he was alright.

At last, remembering why she was here, Tali forced herself to tear her eyes away from her lover's face and turn her attention to the ship's medic. Doctor Harre was sitting across from her with her back to her desk, a datapad held lazily in her hands. Noting that Tali had her full attention, she shifted so that she herself faced the quarian directly, clearing her throat before beginning.

"Now, to begin lets go over the usual stuff. Avoid any physical activity for the next few days, don't get any of the bandages wet, and make sure he doesn't keep picking at them!" She instructed, her voice rising in volume and becoming more forceful near the end as Shepard began to again pick at a bandage even as he was told not to.

"John!" Tali scolded, swatted him on the arm. He began to open his mouth in defiance of this instruction, only to be silenced as she shot him a flat stare. Sighing, the spectre let his hand slowly drop back down to his side. "Its not my fault it itches"

Rolling her eyes, Tali turned back to the medic. "Sorry about my stubborn bosh'tet of a husband, sometimes I think he actually tries to annoy people who tell him what to do."

"mmhmmm" human woman noted, gazing over her data pad. "I might have gotten that impression already... Anyways, where I left off: since I figured Mr "stubborn bosh'tet" wouldn't want to deal with stitches for the next few weeks, I only sewed up the few largest and most severe injuries and left the others be. In result, you will have to make sure to change his bandages and reapply medi-gel every day until they fully close."

The woman paused as she turned to pick up a trio of pill bottles sitting on her desk, and began handing her them one by one "He needs to take these anti-biotics every morning and evening for the next ten days. He also needs to take the painkillers from this bottle every six hours he is awake, while this one contains a higher dosage that should be taken before bed. Did you get all that?"

"Yes, I think so." Tali nodded, tucking the three bottles into a pocket on her suit.

"Normally I would keep him here for another twenty-four hours of observation, but since hes tried to leave several times already, I think its best if you take over from here. Make sure he gets bed-rest for at least the next day, if not two if you think you can make him. Doctor's orders."

"Understood. I think I'll be able to keep the big bosh'tet in line."

"Good." The brown haired woman nodded. "Now, before you go, I also need to run some medical scans on you. It should only take a minute, I just need to check if the strain of yesterday has caused your own injury to reopen."

Nodding slowly in acceptance, Tali got to her feet to stand before the ship's medic. Activating her omni-tool, Doctor Harre extended her arm to hover half a foot away from Tali's back. For a minute she slowly moved her omni-tool up and down as she scanned to whole length of the long cut hidden just beneath Tali's suit before finally stepping back.

"Hmm, its not nearly as bad as I though it would be..." The ship's medic noted as she examined the readings displayed on her omni-tool. "However, you appear to have torn four stitches, partially reopening to injury in those area. Since it hasn't completely reopened, I see no need to replace the stitches you torn, but you will need to apply change your bandages and apply medi-gel. I would do it myself, but due to your weaker immune system you will need to have your husband help you once you get him back to your cabin and run your decontamination unit."

"I will."

"Good" The woman noted before turning her attention to Shepard. "Okay than Commander, I am turning you over to the care of your wife. You're free to go."

"Finally" He grinned, as he moved to stand.

Extending a hand towards him, Tali helped pull him to his feet. Thanking Doctor Harre again, the quarian turned towards the door with her lifemate in tow.

Not more than a few steps out of the med-bay, Tali noticed that Shepard has limping heavily as he walked; his mouth twisting into a grimace of pain and flinching every time he put weight onto his left foot. Concerned, Tali slowed her own pace so that she walked shoulder to shoulder to him before slipping an arm under his armpit and around his back to support some of his weight.

Immediately her aid proved to offer some relief, her bondmate now wincing less on every other step, and his face no longer tightening in twinges of pain. "Thanks" He gave her a warm smile that spread all the way up to the deep blue eyes.

Flashing him a smile of her own that she knew he could read even with her mask in the way, Tali returned her attention to helping him hobble the rest of the way to the elevator. Stepping inside, she reached out for the controls, and after a moments delay the began ascending upward.

After a no more than half a minute had passed, the elevator doors spread open with a soft chime like noise. Bracing herself, Tali once more shouldered her lifemate's considerable weight. Pausing only long enough to activate the decontamination unit sitting just inside the doorway, Tali made her way over to the large bed at the far side of the room. Groaning at the effort of practically carrying the large human, she somehow manged to keep her footing long enough to deposit Shepard down on the edge of the bed.

Tali breathed heavily as she slumped down next to him, a hand involuntarily groping at the line of renewed pain cutting across her back; which drew as concerned look from Shepard.

"I appreciated the thought Tali, but you didn't have to do that; not when your injured yourself. I could of managed on my own."

Tali shook her head. "No, I did. You're hurt worse then me, only fare that I share some of the pain." She turned her head away as she finished speaking, her eyes falling upon the fish tank to her side.

For a long while an uncomfortable silence fell between them. Now that her fear for Shepard's life had subsided Tali found herself filled with a myriad of confused emotions; relief mixing with concern over the extent of Shepard's wounds, mixing with anger at her lifemate's disregard for his own well being. At last Tali ventured to speak, her voice wavering as she struggled to contain these conflicting emotions battling inside her. "I almost lost you back there, and seeing you that close to death I..." She fell silent once more as her voice broke. Slowly she looked back up at him, her eyes lingering on his as she tried to read _her_ human's expression.

"Are you mad at me?" He asked softly, dropping his gaze away from her's. "I know, I was stupid and I deserve it. You don't deserve me putting you through the fear of losing me again-"

What ever he was going to say was lost in a flurry of motion as Tali, not waiting until he had finished, threw her arms around him in a fierce hug. "Of course I'm angry, you stubborn, reckless, infuriating bosh'tet! ...But more than that, I'm just happy and relieved you're still here, alive, with me." She let out a sound somewhere between a laugh and a choked sob. She tightened her grip around him, as if a part of her feared it would vanish the moment she let go.

She felt her life-mates warm, strong arms encircle her waist, in a tight grip mirroring own. "I'm sorry. So sorry for not thinking of you, and for not listening to Garrus. I-"

She squeezed her hold tighter silencing him, before dipping her forward to rest against his broad chest. "Shhhh. You don't need to apologize for anything. I already forgive you. Just...I want to know why? Why did you feel you had to go alone? We're always with you John. Me, Garrus, Kaidan, Liara, and all the others. "

"Because I couldn't bare the thought of losing you or anyone else." His spoke in a soft, barely audible whisper. Turning her head upward Tali saw that his face was twisted into a pained expression. "I almost lost you once already... I couldn't..." His words we lost in a strangled sound in the depths of his throat, as his he was fighting back a fit of sobs.

Tali slipped a hand out from under his encircling arms, reaching up to softly caress a cheek. "Its okay, I'm here now and I'm safe."

"I know... but it's not just that. Last time I was on that damn reaper, I lost all but two on my team... I didn't only relive the reaper war, but also..."

"It was too much like Akuze, wasn't it? I didn't know it still affected you.. I thought you came to terms with it years ago."

"I did, or at least I thought so, thanks in no small part to a certain quarian girl helping me begin to open up to people again and work through some of my countless mental issues." A small smile briefly spread over his lips, only to be lost back into pained grimace as quickly as it had appeared. "I guess no wound is so well healed that it can't be be torn open again. After a mission that I damn near lost my entire team, after another Akuze... I couldn't let that happen again, not to you, not to Garrus or Kaidan or anyone else.. even if it meant that I could die in your or their place."

Before she could reply, Shepard continued, his voice rising to a near shout as he continued. "The worst part is I didn't even think for a moment how my choice could even effect you or anyone else. Not for a moment did I even think of how me dying would leave you devastated. I was blinded by stupidity and fear, and in it I thought I was being selfless, willing to put myself on the line to protect without realizing until now how selfish it was."

"You've never been selfish, John. You're the single least selfish person I've ever met out of the whole universe. You've given up so much for others, thrown yourself into harms way time and time again to save people who need you, and were willing to sacrifice anything if it meant giving this galaxy a brighter future." She assured him, trying to carry in her voice all of her love and every ounce of conviction she possessed. "And more than that, you mean the world to me. I can't stand watching you tear yourself apart like this. Wherever you go, whatever you face, you never have to think you'll need to do it alone. I'm with you, always."

She caught the glint of wetness building at the edges of Shepard's eyes as she finished speaking. For a moment her lifemate stared back at her, blinking back the gathering moistness, before at last he leaned his head in towards her, planting a gentle kiss on the top of her helmet before dropping lower to rest his forehead against her faceplate.

"I still don't know what I did to deserve someone so sweet and beautiful... Or who is willing to put up with all my crap."

"I had a dashing commander sweep me off my feet and fight to give me a home world and family I always wanted. For him, I'll put up with anything necessary for us to be together."

He let out a sound somewhere between a laugh and a sob as he pulled away, wiping his eyes on a forearm. "I would've done it all for you even if you hadn't been in a relationship with me. Your people where always given the short end of the stick, and after all the sacrifices your made for them you deserved to be happy, no mater who you ended up with."

"I know you would have, my _hesh'la_". As she spoke, Tali's reached up towards her helmet, slim fingers searching out the releases. There was a click and a hiss of escaping air as she pulled the mask away, setting it aside. "And thats why your are mine." She leaned forward as she spoke, seizing hold of her lifemate's shoulder as she finished to pull him in, their lips meeting in a long, passionate kiss.

At last they broke away from one another until their only contact was her slim hand held within his. She watched as Shepard lifted a hand to wipe away the last remnants of moisture in his eyes, his lips curling into wry grin as all remaining doubt and lingering regret fled from his features. "Come on, Miss vas Rannoch, lets get you of that suit. Doctor's orders after all"

"If you insist" She replied in a sultry, her own lips twisting into a flirtatious smile of her own.

With Shepard's help, her suit fell away piece by piece to be discarded at the foot of the bed until at last she sat uncovered before him, her raven black hair spilling down around her bare shoulders.

"Hold on one second, I'll be right back" Shepard whispered to her, his lips meeting hers in the brief, trailing kiss as he stood. She watched as he hobbled over to his desk, crouching down to retrieve the medical kit stored there before returning to sit next to her on the bed. "Turn around, and help me remove your bandages. If I do hurts, let me know."

"Alright" Gathering up her hair to pull it away from her back, Tali turned around so she sat facing away to him. Slowly the bandages wrapping her torso torso began to fall away, Tali seeing that they were indeed stained with splotches of red where the underlying stitches had torn. She winced as the last bandage well away, a stinging pain burning up and down the length of the injury as it met the open air.

"Here's the part where I say that "this is going to string a little", but I think you know that well enough by now" Her husband joked, a grin evident in his voice.

She hissed in pain as he began dabbing medi-gel on the regions of her back where her wound had partially reopened. Blissfully, the stringing only lasted a handful of seconds each time, fading into numbness as the medi-gel's localized anesthetic began to take effect. After a generous layer of medi-gel had been applied, Shepard set to work at re-bandaging her wound. For several minutes her worked, taking his time to avoid causing her undue discomfort before at last tying off the lose ends of linen.

"There, is that too tight?"

"No, its fine." She replied, letting her hair fall back around her shoulders as she turned to face him. "So, now thats over with; how do we spend the rest of this morning?"

"Well, you did just say you'd "put up with anything", right? Because in that case there are some things I'd like to try next time we-"

Before he could finish Tali swatted him on the arm, drawing a exaggerated yelp from the infuriating man. "Bosh'tet."

Somehow this only made him grin even wider, to which she swatted at his arm again. That brought another exaggerated cry from his lips and broke into a fit of laughter as he raised his hands between in surrender."Keelah, I was just joking. I'm barely holding together without being attacked by a beautiful quarian woman."

That brought a wide smile to her face, letting loose a fit a giggles that mixed with his deep laughter. "Really John, "Keelah"? Spending so much time with me on Rannoch must be rubbing off with you." Her giggles dieing down, Tali cocked her head to one side as she continued, her voice taking on a flirtatious tone. "Who knows, as this rate I might be able to make a proper quarian out of you yet."

"What can I say, when I decided to marry a quarian I resolved to go the whole way to make things work. Though I'd have to lose a few fingers and reverse the chirality of my DNA before I'd be a "proper quarian"." He grinned, leaning in the draw another long kiss from her lips.

"Who knows, you already managed to beat the Reapers and make peace between my people and the geth. Another "impossible" task seems right up your alley." She idly traced a fingers down the length of his neck to his broad, muscled chest; drawing a small shiver in response from her_ saera. _

"Tali, you know your wrong about me being the most selfless person in the galaxy." As he spoke he reach out to gently caress her cheek with a half curled hand.

Raising her own hand, she wrapped her fingers around his"Don't try and be humble John, not when we both knows its true"

"No, I'm not. I can't be, not when the woman deserving of that is right here with me." He said with a chuckle, more at his own cheesy line then anything else.

Tali just smiled softly in response, before suddenly pushing out with both arms and shoving him back onto the bed. In an instant she was on top of him, her face only inches away as her luminous silver eyes gazing intensely into his. "Sweet talker." Their lips met again in a long, passionate kiss; another in a long line of those they would share that morning.

* * *

- _Hesh'la_: slang term for captain, but only used when captain and speaker are intimately involved. Formal translation: "Guide of my heart

* * *

Authors Note: Well, there goes my first attempt at writing a chapter purely focused on fluff. It was a nice but difficult change for me from the usual action/adventure with a bit of character interaction/drama type content I normally do. Anyways, I hope it turned out okay and wasn't too cheesy or whatnot.

Due to the shorter than usual length of this chapter and the next, I will be posting chapter 29 next week rather than the week after like I usually would. Just thought I should give you guys a heads up on the change of schedule, and that you can look forward to more of the story earlier than normal.


	29. Chapter 29: Training

_Author's Note: _Hey guys, just putting this at the beginning of this chapter to let you know that this little installment is more of a short bonus chapter than anything else. Originally this was going to be part of last chapter, but I found that it simply did not fit alongside that part. As such I decided to release it separately outside of my normal schedule. As a result, there will also be a new chapter next week to make up for this. Anyways, enough of my babbling, enjoy!

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_4/30/2210_

"Creator-Shepard, it has been eight galactic standard hours since you have first fell asleep, and you instructed us to ensure that you cease all rest." Core's disembodied voice announced through her blissful cloud of unconsciousness.

Groaning, Ria rubbed her eyes groggily. "I know I did Core, you didn't have to explain yourself." She hissed far more venomously than she intended too.

"Our knowledge of organic psychology indicates that irritability is a common side effect of interrupted rest. We recommend consumption of a mild stimulant to help you reach full functionality in a briefer period."

"Core, please shut up." Ria said with another exhausted sigh as she pushed herself out from under her covers and sat up.

"Your reply adds to the empirical evidence that my analysis is correct." The geth noted before his voice 'withdrew'.

Muttering under her breath, Ria slid off the bed and retrieved her helmet from where it lay on the floor before making her way over to the cabin's bathroom. Setting the helmet aside, she splashed cold water from the sink onto her face. Blinking as she wiped the frigid liquid from her eyes, the young quarian's sight fell upon the mirror before her, examining her reflection for the first time since her pilgrimage had begun.

Her skin was paler than she remembered it, her hair more unkempt and having grown a couple of inches to just below her shoulders. But what struck her most were the pale gold eyes that stared back at her from the reflection. They were sunken deeper in her skull then she recalled, and carried a look both more thoughtful and bit more jaded than they ever had been before.

_You have seen a lot since you left home and aren't exactly the same wide eyed young girl who couldn't wait to set off on her own._ she mused as she continued examining the subtle changes in her appearance.

Sighing at last, she gathered up her hair and pulled it back into a ponytail; feeding it back into one of the tubes at the back of her helmet as she slipped it on. Returning to the main room of her cabin, she picked up the dark green faceplate of her helmet and slipped it into place with a faint click as it sealed.

Heading down to the ship's mess hall, Ria began digging through one of the cabinets before retrieving a tube of nutrient paste and a small container of sterilized dextro-coffee. Taking a sip of the bitter tasting liquid, Ria glanced around, noticing for the first time how much emptier the ship appeared compared to normal. "Core." She called out, her curiosity peaked. "Where is everyone?"

"Much of the crew is currently located in the cargo bay. Lieutenant-Kalerihn and Creator-Valah are currently engaged in mock biotic combat, which has drawn a large audience. When last we checked in, Officer-Vakarian had begun to "make wagers" as he put it." Core answered smoothly.

"Of course he did." Ria noted dryly, a small smile tugging at the edges of her lips.

"We would recommend you join those gathered as well, it could be... enjoyable." Core added before his voice faded away into silence.

_Sure, why not_, Ria shrugged. Finishing her beverage and choking down a few mouthfuls of the bland paste. Heading for the elevator, Ria descended down to the lower level of the ship.

As the lift doors spread open, the young quarian was greeted with the sight of what appeared to be a scene of barely controlled chaos. Jalin and Kel stood facing one another in a scattered ring of small containers and a handful of larger crates, namely those that had already been damaged by Daron the night before. Those were laying where they had been thrown or otherwise cast aside. Both contestants shimmered faintly with biotic energy as they stood for all appearances motionless.

Suddenly Jalin sprung into action, the aura of dark energy flaring in intensity as he flung two crates, one after another, from the ground towards the quarian biotic. A confident smile filled the salarian's lips as he moved, his eyes filled with expectation as if waiting to see how his pupil would handle this most recent attack.

Ria watched as Kel managed to raise an arm in front of him as if to shield himself from the impact when the first biotically flung projectile was only a foot away. Then, an instant later the metal container suddenly spun off to the side, deflected off a half sphere of biotic energy that had formed almost instantly around the blue clad quarian. Even so, the impact sent him staggering back a step from the force of the blow, the young quarian managing to find his footing a split second before the second crate struck. The second blow sent him reeling again even as it was deflected by his shield, the quarian biotic nearly losing his balance as he staggered back yet another stride.

Regaining his balance, Kel settled into a low steady stance, as if preparing for another attack to suddenly fall. His shoulders rose and fell as he breathed heavily, his wide eyes filled with apprehension and he watched Jalin for any sign of movement toward continuing his assault.

Tearing her gaze away from the contest, Ria turned her attention to the small crowd of a dozen or so onlookers who stood next to or sat upon a large stack of heavy crates. Scanning the group, her eyes fell upon Tarran and Laura, who were both perched upon the very summit of the mountain of stored supplies. As she looked, Tarran seemed to take notice of her presence, briefly glancing away from the two biotics to throw her a small nod in invitation to join him and Laura before turning away once more.

Scrambling up the mound of containers, Ria joined her friends; taking a seat cross legged next to them. "I see you two have gathered quite a crowd here to watch our team. How'd this end up happening?" She asked once she had settled down completely next to them.

"To be honest, not exactly sure" Tarran answered with a shrug. "Up until about twenty minutes ago it was on us two watching. We both had some down time and nothing more practical to do, so myself and Alenko here decided to go lend Kel some moral support while he suffered through Jalin's training. Everyone else only started to show up once the fightt had started and they began throwing stuff at each other; which seemed to draw quite a bit of attention from the rest of the crew."

"Makes sense." Ria answered with a small nod. "Now, I also heard something about you taking bets. I hope this isn't some ploy to cheat some of our poor unsuspecting crew out of money."

"Ouch, that hurts Ria" Tarran grinned in mock offense, "You know I'd never do something **that** underhanded. Besides, even if I tried to, you know Laura's too much of a stuck up goody goody to let me do anything too terrible."

No sooner had he finished, Tarran let out a soft exclamation as Laura punched him in the shoulder roughly. "Watch it Vakarian, talk like that is just asking for me to prove you wrong."

"We all know you're bluffing Laura; besides, that wouldn't be very ladylike of you." Tarran countered, the comment earning him another rough blow to the arm.

"Your insufferable sometimes Vakarian, you know that?" Laura growled with overplayed mock anger.

"Speaking of insufferability; I've noticed you've been very upbeat and snarky since yesterday, Tarran. What happened to you having become more, " uptight and serious" in the past few years?" Ria asked, smiling behind her mask.

"Huh, I don't know really." Tarran mused, warily turning his attention back to Ria as if fearing that Laura would attack him the minute he turned his back to her. "I guess that with how grim and tense everyone was during the last mission, I thought that a bit of levity wouldn't be a bad thing. I guess after that I just haven't stopped."

"Well don't stop, I'd kinda missed the old Tarran." Ria grinned from behind her mask. "No offense, but new Tarran was a killjoy."

"Hmm, we'll see." Tarran replied thoughtfully, before after a pause returned to his previous train of thought," Well, as I was saying- Don't worry about me doing anything too underhanded, the stakes have been reasonably low, just wanted to have a bit of fun and have some friendly wagers on who we think is going to win the fight."

"Fair enough." Ria said with a grin, turning back to the battle just in time to see Kel turn aside another string of strikes unleashed by the more experienced salarian biotic. After a moment more of watching, she continued from where she left off. "So, who'd you bet on winning?"

"Why? Looking to get in on the action, Ria?" Tarran asked, his mandibles widening in the turian equivalent of a wide toothy grin.

"I think I'll pass, just curious about who you're playing favorites to."

"Gah, you and Laura are both no fun." Tarran groaned, mild disappointment clear in his voice. "As for you question, I am betting Jalin will win. He has far more experience, and even without that factor I don't think Kel has a real chance."

"Whys that? I think you're giving Kel a bit too little credit."

"He's not nearly aggressive enough to win this." Tarran answered simply, his gaze locked on the combat as Kel continued to block another barrage of incoming attacks as if in support of the turian's point. "All hes done is defend himself, which's let Jalin keep wearing him down. I hate to say it, but unless the kid tries something soon I really don't see how things could turn out differently."

"From what I've seen Kel's holding his own just fine so far." Ria countered with a frown as she returned to watching the contest with renewed interest.

"Ria, as much as I hate to agree with him, Tarran's right." Laura interjected. "Sure, Kel's definitely got some talent and his biotics have definitely improved. The problem is Kel's just too passive, and just isn't willing to fight back. A strong defense is only useful if you eventually strike back."

As if on cue, Jalin launched another attack, this time rather than launching a crate he hit the quarian with biotic throw. The attack sent him reeling back despite the protective shield, which broke as the young biotic's concentration faltered.

Taking advantage of Kel's lapse, Jalin gestured at one of the crates that had been deflected off to Kel's side, which shimmered with blue light as it smoothly lifted from the floor and shot towards the quarian's shoulder.

Fighting to keep his footing, Kel managed to form a new barrier an instant before the projectile crashed into him. Already off balance, the impact toppled him over to the side, the quarian biotic letting out a yelp of pain as his shoulder struck the ground hard.

In desperation Kel thrust out a hand at the salarian, hitting him with an offensive biotic attack for the first time since the fight had begun. The biotic push caught the lieutenant off guard and knocked him off his feet. The instant after unleashing the attack, Kel rolled over and began scrambling to his feet, as he frantically tried to recover before the Salarian did.

As quick as the quarian was, Jalin was faster; springing to his feet before the quarian. The lieutenant's form became washed in a blinding azure light as he vanished from sight just as Kel made it to his feet; appearing with a crackling bang a few feet away from the quarian.

Kel threw up a hand to form another shield and defend himself as Jalin stepped forward, shrinking the gap between them. Jalin's hand shot down towards Kel's legs in a yanking motion as he biotically pulled the quarian's feet out from under him.

Kel hit the ground hard yet again, laying there dazed for a split second from the fall. His senses seemed to return quickly as Jalin slowly drew in closer across the last few feet between them. Panicking, the blue clad quarian desperately scrambled back across the ground to put some distance between him and his opponent.

This last effort only managed to buy the young biotic a second more before Jalin reached him. Standing over him, the salarian drew back as hand as if the strike, dark energy dancing around him with menacing intent.

"Okay! Okay, I give up! You win!"

For a instant Jalin didn't move, the dancing blue light swirling around him casting a dim light as he stood poised to strike. Then, slowly, the salarian lowered his arm, before stepping forward to help Kel to his feet.

Jalin appeared to then say something to Kel, to which the young quarian shook his head slowly while grasping his shoulder as if in pain. Straining, Ria tried to catch what was said, but whatever words were being exchanged between the two biotics were lost in the soft chatter of the onlookers and the distance between them and her.

"Ha! See, told you" Tarran grinned behind her, catching a handful of credit chits as they were tossed to him by a couple of the ship's crew members gather.

"Yes, we are all _so_ impressed." Laura muttered dryly.

Shaking her head with bemusement, Ria hopped down off the the mountainous stack of crates and made her way over to where Jalin and Kel stood talking amongst themselves. As she came to a stop a few feet away, Ria caught the end of whatever Jalin had been telling the quarian biotic.

"-besides your lack of offensive techniques, your overall performance during the battle was greatly improved. While your talents do lay in defensive use of your biotics, going forward you need to work on being able to counter attack after deflecting an enemy assault. Until then I'd advise food and sleep, not to mention check up by ship's medic if your shoulder continues to pain you after a time." Jalin finished.

"O-okay" Kel nodded, wincing as he gingerly rubbed his bruised arm

Noticing Ria's presence, Jalin turned away from Kel and called out to her as he crossed the short gap between them. "Ah, good! Ria, was hoping to find you soon. Needed to talk about matters, not urgent though."

"What's up?"

"Matters not urgent, as I said: Its just been several weeks since we last stopped we were last stopped to take on supplies. That coupled with damage Daron caused to our stored inventory, we have only two, possibly three weeks left of non-emergency provisions left." Jalin explained quickly without pause, only eventually breaking his continuous chatter to take a sharp intake of air before continuing right along. "I recommend we head to omega or other such non-council controlled port to resupply, it will be some time before next mission, so nows the best time."

"Sounds good, though you really didn't need to check in with me about it first."

"No, but wanted to. You're the ship's Captain for the duration of this mission, best you take the full responsibility that comes with it... even the tedious and mundane" Jalin added with a small grin.

"Thanks... I think." Ria replied hesitantly, not sure if she should be thrilled at the prospect or not.

"Good." Jalin replied cheerfully, before turning his away as his attention returned to Kel "Now Kel, remember what I said. Also, don't be too hard on yourself; losing to more experienced combatant nothing to be ashamed about."

"I will..." Kel replied softly with a short dip of his head as the Salarian withdrew.

After Jalin had fallen out of sight, Ria turned her gaze upon the other quarian. "How's your shoulder?"

"Wah, oh it-its fine, just bruised it on that last fall..." Kel stuttered, startled by her sudden question. "So, I see that you were watching the fight with- I hope I didn't... embarrass myself too badly."

"You did fine from what I saw." Ria replied assuredly, tipping her head to the side in the quarian equivalent of smiling while masked.

"Oh, good.. I guess I better get going, repairs, on engine." With a hasty nod, visibly trying to extricate himself from the awkward exchange as quickly as possible. Waiting only long enough for her to gesture that he was excused, he turned and hurried off towards the ship's engineering bay

Soon after the quarian had withdrawn, the small crowd of onlookers began filing out as well, returning to their duties elsewhere on the ship until only Tarran, Laura, and herself remained in the hangar bay. For a time no one spoke, before at last Laura hopped down from the pile of storage containers and made her way into the center of the room.

"So, since it looks like we still have the rest of the morning to kill; are either of you two up for a little sparring practice of our own? Unless you're scared of course." She called out to them, kicking aside a few of the smaller boxes that littered the area.

"This isn't payback for my innocent remarks earlier, is it?" Tarran mused, slipping down off his perch to join her.

"Only one way to find out." Laura smirk cryptically.

"Well, either way I'm in." Ria answered, jogging over to where Laura stood and began helping clearing rough ring of open space.

"Alright, I'm in." Tarran groaned. "Its not like I'm reluctant because experience says you're going to kick our asses like usual."

"That's good, because you're going up against me first. After thats done with, Ria can fight me." Laura replied with a devilish smirk.

"Don't you mean that Ria will fight the winner?"

"Isn't that what I just said?" Laura countered, her smile somehow yet becoming more malicious every second that passed.

"Spirits, I'm doomed aren't I." Tarran muttered, flashing Ria a pleading look.

Ria only grinned from behind in response at her friends doom; to which the turian's expression only grew more hopeless. "Don't give me that look," Ria laughed, turning away. "If I helped you now you wouldn't learn your lesson."


	30. Chapter 30: Preparation

5/9/2210

"Shepard, it's taken some work, but I believe I have found them." Liara's hologram form beamed with breathless excitement. "It took two weeks of monitoring all communications in that sector of space and numerous reconnaissance missions by my agents. We must act quickly on this information as it is a miracle my efforts were not discovered, and I fear it will be only a matter of time before they learn of my discovery."

Shepard blinked, taken by surprise at the rapid pace the conversation had taken. Liara hadn't even taken the time to exchange a simple greeting before jumping into the matter at hand. It took him a moment to from words in response to the unexpected barrage of information. "Liara, you're going to have to slow down. What have you found? And try to stop bouncing this time."

"I apologize, I am afraid that I in my excitement I may have gotten ahead of myself there." Liara replied sheepishly, seeming for just a moment that small part of the awkward, inexperienced asari scientist he had met what seemed like a lifetime ago had returned. This brief flash of embarrassment only lasted an instant; Liara quickly regaining her composure. "Well, then, I suppose I must start at the beginning. You remember the tracker Tali placed on that Cerberus assassin just over two weeks ago?"

"Yes, I remember." Shepard grimaced, seeing again the glint of as sword as it fell upon his lifemate.

Liara nodded, seeming to not notice his wince. "As I said then, the tracker seemed to pass through numerous locations in the galaxy before cutting out, likely being discovered by its 'host'. Though I considered the possibility that this was merely a plot by our enemies to throw us off, I turned much of my resources to examining those areas."

Liara paused, her fingers dancing across a unseen keypad before continuing. "I will spare you the details, but after two weeks of searching I have been able to determine the locations of two Cerberus bases that are of great import to the organization."

Shepard found himself smiling at this news; something seeming to be going right since the beginning of the damned mission. "I knew you wouldn't let us down Liara. What can you tell me about the two bases?"

"The base closest to the Normandy's current position is an uninhabited rocky planet named Volkh within the Voyager Cluster." She she spoke a holographic image of the planet in question, along with an detailed map of the cluster in question, appeared before Shepard. "Its location is removed from the more trafficked regions of the cluster, but not so isolated that unidentified ships in the area would arouse suspicion if spotted."

"What's important about this location that makes it a target?" The spectre asked after a moment of thought.

"The base is effectively one big high security vault were Cerberus is keeping a large portion of their most valuable resources and equipment until later use." The asari Shadow Broker replied. "From an encrypted transmission I was able to intercept I was able to discover that amongst other valuable assets, the prothean code-matrix acquired from Horizon is being held at this location."

"-And if we can take or destroy it, Cerberus loses its ability to locate the Dark Forge." Shepard finished with a crooked smile. "We'd ruin all of Cerberus' plans in a single well place attack, or at the very least set them back by weeks, months or even years."

"My thoughts exactly."

Nodding, Shepard surveyed the image once more. "What kind of defenses does this place have?"

The view of the planet suddenly shifted as the holographic image zoomed in rapidly before focusing on a several mile wide grid of rugged landscape dotted with craters. "The reconnaissance team I dispatched to the location identified at least half a dozen anti-aircraft guns as well as short range scanners capable of detecting aircraft with stealth drives, such as the Normandy or the Kodiak shuttle."

"Wonderful." Shepard muttered. "I hope you have a plan that doesn't involve us getting turned into Swiss cheese mid fight."

"Indeed I do." Liara replied with a small, somewhat smug, smile. "While the base's anti-air defenses are considerable, their land defenses are comparably lacking. Besides a few mounted gun emplacements around the single entrance and reinforced gates, there is little standing in the path of a land assault."

"It still doesn't seem like taking this place on foot will be very fun." Shepard frowned, peering at the map thoughtfully.

"On foot, no I am afraid it would not. But with an armored vehicle, such as an Mako I have taken the liberty of acquiring for this mission, you should have relatively minimal difficulty." Liara replied, her eyes glinting as she explained her plan.

"Nothing like charging an enemy stronghold in a big armored tank," Shepard said, flashing the asari a small smirk. "Just like old times, isn't it?"

"Just like old times." Liara repeated in answer. "I somewhat wish I was going with you, on yet another impossible and suicidal mission. Not sure what that says about my sanity though."

"Don't worry Liara You're about as sane as I am." Shepard chuckled with a grin

"Somehow that doesn't seem very reassuring." Liara replied, joining in his laughter with her own. The moment of mirth only lasted a brief period, before fading away. The two returned to the serious matter before them.

"I must warn you that things will get more difficult once you're inside. The base appears to double as barracks for much of Cerberus' forces. And while I cannot say for certain, the numbers housed there may approach a hundred or more." Liara explained, starting from where she had left off. "I have no information on the layout of the base's interior, so you'll be going in blind I'm afraid."

"Nothing I haven't handled before." Shepard assured her. "Now, what about the other base you discovered."

Liara was silent for several moments, her gaze drawn off to an unseen display screen somewhere to her left. She hammered away at a keypad, pulling up the information before answering. "The other location is a scientific base where Cerberus has been conducting much of their research on the numerous prothean artifacts they have been collecting during the past few months. While I have been unable to get information regarding any artifacts held at this location, the importance of this base warrants a look."

The holographic display shifted yet again, the blur of motion resolving into a map of a different star cluster than the one displayed before. "It is a space station orbiting around a brown dwarf named Pyri that is located in the Velorum cluster at the edge of the Terminus Systems."

"Less than I would wish too. The station's isolated location means that recon was impossible, so all I am aware of is what I could learn from a far distance." The asari frowned, tapping a key. "The station is equipped with a hanger whose size indicates about a dozen close range fighters who will need to be bypassed to gain entry. Like the other base, the team assigned to this location will be going blind once inside."

Shepard began to nod slowly, then froze suddenly as what she had said him him. The team assigned, not his team. For a single heartbeat that seemed to last an eternity, he dared not speak, a pit of dread forming in his stomach. Then, with an effort, he spoke, a part of him fearing the answer he knew was coming even as he poses the question. "Liara, you said 'the team assigned'. Is there a reason I'm not handling it too?"

"Normally you would, but on this mission it could have... complications." the asari sighed. "Assaulting one of the bases before the other is likely to tip Cerberus off. They could evacuate the other locations, or at the least redouble their defenses. The only way to ensure we keep the element of surprise is to ensure both are hit in simultaneous attacks."

"You want Ria and her team to assault the scientific base." Shepard leaned on the console as he spoke. Every instinct told him to refuse, to keep his daughter out of harms way. But then he remembered all that had happened, of his near death the week before because he'd tried to keep his friends out of harms way. Wasn't this the same? Making a possibly poor choice because it would mean someone he cared about wasn't put a risk?

"The Invisible's stealth tech is more advanced than the Normandy's, and the ship is faster and more maneuverable. They have a better shot getting past the fighters than you do." Liara continued, speaking slowly as she peered intently at him as if attempting to read his expression. "I know you're going to want to refuse, but you have to-"

"Okay, when is the soonest we will be able to coordinate the assault. If I'm going to relay this information to Ria, I need to know everything." Shepard answered, cutting her off.

For an instant the asari appeared surprised at his answer, but the shocked expression quickly resolved into a warm smile. "You never cease to surprise me, Shepard. It may not seem like it now, but I believe you are making the right choice in trusting your daughter to handle this."

"Trusting the people I care about seems to be something I need to work on." He shrugged his shoulders. "I take it'd be a stupid idea to just directly contact Ria when our two ships aren't connected to QEC?"

"Yes, but I think I can manage a work around." Liara agreed, before going into a long explanation about how she would use her own systems to link data coming to and from her base via each ship's QEC; but would need time to flush her systems for bugs and security holes. In the end, asari seemed to decide that it would take an hour before the spectre and his daughter to converse; a fact that Shepard reluctantly agreed.

As the hologram faded away, Shepard found himself slumping against the console before with a weary sigh. He'd meant every work he said to Liara, but asking is daughter to put herself at even more risk than she already was didn't sit right with the spectre. _At least you have an hour to get use to the idea_, a voice in the back of his head said in a mocking tone, the gleefully sadistic part of him knowing full well he'd only get more uneasy with the choice as time went on. "And to think I ever called my sanity into question," he frowned, muttering drying to himself.

**. . . . .**

Ria squinted as she stepped into the Invisible's armory, the room's painfully bright lights stabbing painfully at her sensitive eyes even through the tinted mask she wore. Not for the first time Ria cursed the fact that every other species but her's had evolved on worlds with much brighter sun's than Rannoch's.

Blinking as her eyes adjusted, Ria gazed around the room. Like the previous times she had visited, the room was filled with an array of weapons on racks the hung from nearly every wall. Tool and disassembled parts lay in cluttered piles on several workbenches

Unlike the previous times, Ria noticed that the work areas in the center of the room now supported numerous pieces of scientific equipment sitting amongst the prothean artifacts she and her team had recovered a week before.

In the middle of stood Tarran, who appeared to be working on one of the particle rifles they had taken with a set of tools in hand. All around him hovered four of the geth repair units Core often took control of, which milled around the armory as they assisted the turian in his work by retrieving tools when requested or making small adjustments that require precision beyond what he was capable

Tarran glanced up from the weapon he was working on, his mandibles widening in the turian equivalent of a toothy grin as he greeted her. "Ria, wondered when you'd decide to come in and check out my little man-cave here."

"I had to find out what you've been up to, holed up here for the past week."

"Just been working on a few personal projects." Tarran replied as she moved over to where he stood.

"Is that code for video games and watching cheesy action vids?"

"Har har" Tarran signed. "If you must know, me and Core have been trying to figure out what some of the artifacts we found back on that frozen hellhole do."

"That explains all the geth repair units" Ria noted, her eyes following one of drones as it hovered past.

"Officer-Vakarian speaks accurately." Core's synthesized voice cut in. "Between the combined effort of himself and this platform, with occasional assistance from Lieutenant-Kalerihn, we have made extensive progress in identifying the purpose of numerous items of prothean technology recovered the most recent mission.

"Like what?" the young quarian asked, glancing between Tarran and the speaker from which the geth's voice emanated.

"Well, for starters, with Core's help I figured out how to modify this baby to use modern power cells." Tarran replied, grinning as he hefted the heavy weapon he had taken from the prothean vault and utilized to great effect in their escape from the horrible place. "Now you can swap out power cells if you need to fire it again quickly, while still being able to let is refill slowly for longer drawn out conflicts or when you run out of cells. Basically, it now has the best of both worlds."

"Leave it to you to get all excited over a really big gun." Ria replied with a small smile at her friend's enthusiasm. "Are you trying to overcompensate for something?"

"Ha ha." Tarran replied dryly. "Any other wiseass remarks, oh fearless leader?"

"Tons, but I wouldn't want to embarrass you too badly." she smirked, stiffening a laugh. "So, for the sake of your dignity, lets move on. What about the other weapons we found?"

"We tested to two beam rifles, which appear to have a slightly higher output than those found elsewhere. "

"To be exact: 7.19% greater energy output at 3.76% less the energy usage per second." Core interjected

"Or in layman's terms, a bit better." Tarran countered with a sigh. "Besides that, we have about two dozen of those grenades, which should be useful on the off chance we ever have to fight husks again... And if you interrupt me again Core to tell me the exact number or the probability of us needing to use them again I am going to find a way to hurt you."

"Violent action against this platforms safety would prove both unproductive and potentially hazardous to the ship's crew." The geth replied, his typical nearly emotional voice sounding somehow almost gleeful in his reply.

"Something I think he tries to annoy me." The turian growled under his breath.

Ria found herself sporting a big stupid grin behind her mask at her friend and the geth's bickering; finding it difficult to keep from bursting into a fit of laughter.

This seemed to only annoy the turian further, growling to himself under his breath. After a few more moments of this he seemed to finally regain his composure, continuing it a more level tone. "Thats it for weapons, more or less. Moving on to the other items we retrieved..."

Tarran paused, moving over to the other side of the table to heft a small metal box no larger then a foot across at its widest. "We've only managed to identify a few pieces of the non-weapons tech, most of which has been beyond my area of expertise, so most of the credit goes to Core. One of the most promising are these." Unhooking the claps, he gently lifted the lid up before setting it down before her. Leaning in, Ria saw that inside were a dozens of miniscule metallic spheres of varying sizes, each no larger than a pill. "These turned out to be biotic implants, at the best we can figure they are at the very **least **are as advanced as the best any race this cycle has come up with. Of course, there's the downside."

"Which is?"

"We can't test or even use them. They're designed to interface with prothean physiology. I'm no expert on biotic implants, but I hear that can be a bit of an problem."

"Officer-Vakarian is correct, implantation of protean tailored biotic implants into non-prothean host fall well outside acceptable risk parameters. The least severe reaction is simple non functionality of implants with little harm to host biotic. Problematically, more adverse complications are probable: including infliction of extensive damage to nervous system, neural scarring, or expiration of the subject." Core explained, elaborating on the turian's answer.

"So they're basically useless." Ria frowned.

The geth replied hesitantly, seeming to consider the statement for a slit second before answering.

"For the relatively accessible time period, correct."

"Lucky us, we did manage to grab something out resident biotics can use." Tarran, moving over to a pair of large bulky bracers sitting on the table. They were gray in color and were set with small orange lights that shone dimly against the brighter lights overhead.

"Those don't look like prothean tech." Ria noted as she looked over them thoughtfully.

"Thats because most of these aren't." Tarran said, rapping one of the bracers with a knuckle. "Inside these are the set of biotic amps we found, which can temporarily boost biotics output in short bursts. Like the implants, they were designed to only work with protheans, but Core and Jalin found a workaround."

"Lieutenant-Kalerihn receives credit for the solution, this unit only assisted." Core added quickly. "By interfacing core components with existing amps in our possession, they can be used by biotics with miniscule probability of harm. It is an inelegant, but adequate solution."

Ria tapped a finger against the work table for a moment before replying. "Who's getting these then?"

It was Tarran who answered. "Kel, which was also Jalin's idea. Can't say I disagree, both he and Daron have a lot more experience than the kid, who could use the extra boost."

"What about this?" Ria gestured at the last item sitting on the work table, the small fist sized disk of an unidentifiable metal see had taken from the prothean week ago on impulse rather than anything else. The small object shimmered in the bright light, an aspect that had gone unseen in the dim of the dark depths where she had first laid eyes on it.

"No determinable function nor purpose could be identified." The geth replied, falling silent for half a heartbeat before elaborating further. "Tests indicate the object in question is composed mainly of nanotech like much of prothean technology, however no parallel in design and composition could to the other prothean devices on record. All tests conducted on it proved futile, with no reaction or change was noted. It remains an... unknown variable."

Ria bit on her lower lip as she stared at the mysterious object thoughtfully. "Is it dangerous?

"Currently device is completely inert, with no electronic, thermal, ultraviolet, radiation, ultrasonic, or mass effect emissions detected. The best we can determine it poses no threat to you or the rest of the Invisible's crew." Core replied, putting her concern at ease. "We theorize that it is designed to function in tandem to another unknown piece of technology, or has been rendered nonfunctional by the passage of 50,000 years since its creation."

"Well, I guess it'll make to good souvenir at the very least." Ria noted, reaching out for the device. She halted at the last minute, her fingers hovering less than an inch above its surface. "Can I?"

"We see no harm, Creator-Shepard."

Nodding she unceremoniously closed her hand around the device and deposited it into one of the pouches at her belt. "So, anything else I need to be informed of, or it that it?"

"We have informed you of all relevant progress in regards to determining the-" Core started to explain, before suddenly falling silent; as if something of great importance had suddenly grabbed the geth's attention.

Ria exchanged worried looks with Tarran, apprehension gripping her a million reasons, most dire, sprung to mind explaining what had garnered Core's full attention. "Core, what is it?"

A handful of seconds creeped by before the geth answered. "We just received word from Doctor T'Soni that was flagged as urgent. It appears that she wishes to establish a secure link between the Invisible and the Normandy SR2, at the request of the ship's acting captain, Lieutenant-Commander Shepard."

**. . . . .**

Ria restlessly paced up and down the length of the Invisible's comms room, every so often halting to fidget with the straps of her armor. Every minute that passed in waiting left her growing more and more apprehensive; the prospect of her father contacting her in regards to an upcoming assignment left her on edge. _Calm down Ria, this is dad we're talking about. Why are you fretting so much_, she scolded herself again and again, trying her best to push aside her worrying.

Even as she asked herself why, the reasons for her nervousness immediately sprang to mind. Since the start of this entire damned adventure she hadn't spoken to either of her parents, and could only imagine what they must think of her decision. Her worst fear was that they were angry or upset that she had put herself at risk, and that maybe her father was contacting her to tell her himself to stop getting involved and let him take it from here.

Frowning, Ria slumped against a bulkhead, fighting the urge to continue fidgeting nervously.

Dammit, what's taking Liara so damned long to set up a keela'kastet comms channel?

Once again the answer leapt immediately to the forefront of her mind: the Normandy and the Invisible were not linked by quantum entanglement communicators like to Liara's base, and as a result the asari had insisted that she take steps to ensure her own systems were secure before patching the two communication networks together.

Ria's foot hammered anxiously against the floor in a tireless beat as she stared at the darkened communications terminal before her. Just as she moved to begin pacing once more, there was the soft beep as Liara's voice carried out from the device. "_Ria, I have finished flushing my systems of any security risks I could find. When your ready, I can patch Shep- eh, I mean, your father through."_

"Do it."

A moment crawled by after the asari's voice had retreated, before the terminal flared up with a soft blue light. Slowly but surely an armored figure materialize before her, the glint of the distinctive N7 logo catching her eyes before they fell upon the face of her father.

"_Ria."_ He greeted her. While his tone was unreadable, she caught the small smile tugging at the edge of his lips as he spoke. The sight of him brought up strong emotions, despite his odd tone and she had to resist the urge to smile.

"Dad." she greeted him in the same lackluster way as he had her.

**. . . . .**

For a moment Shepard said nothing as he looked his daughter up and down. He felt a small, proud smile grown on his lips as he saw just how well she carried herself adored in the full raiment of war, which turned to bemusement when his eyes fell upon the dark green version of the red stripe adoring his own armor.

_Garrus' idea no doubt_.

His pride quickly flashed to worry as he caught sight of numerous scars of battle dotting the armor where enemies had scored a hit against his daughter; the worst being a repaired bullet hole on her side just below her rib cage.

After a moment he managed to push aside his concern. Shepard smiled more openly, his eyes meeting the silver points of light shining from behind her mask.

"So, I haven't even told you what I need your help with and you're already suited up? I know you've always been eager Ria, but don't you think that might be pushing it a bit?" He said with a soft chuckle.

"So says the one wearing his old ratty armor. Pots and kettles, Dad, pots and kettles." Ria's use of the old term made him furrow his brows briefly in confusion.

"Where did you learn _that_ expression?"

"From growing up with a human for a dad for one. Though I'm still not quite sure what a kettle even is."

"Ah, Right." He nodded to himself and scratched the back of his neck in that way he did when he was nervous or embarrassed. "So, the reason I called. I don't like the idea of putting you to unnecessary risk but..." He paused, sighing before continuing reluctantly. "But, I need your help. You and your team, I mean"

"What do you need?" She replied simply, her eyes narrowing to a more serious gaze as an air of business fell between them.

For the most part his daughter listened silently as he repeated all of what Liara had told him, and explained what her role in the simultaneous assaults on the two Cerberus bases would be. Occasionally she pressed him with a question here and there, but mainly just listened until he had finished.

"We can't risk either Cerberus base having any warning, so the two attacks need to be damn near perfectly simultaneous. I know you and your team can do this, but I need to know if you're ready"

He met his daughter's gaze as he finished, waiting silently for her answer. She did not seem to notice him, her eyes distant as if lost in thought.

**. . . . .**

Ria's mind raced as he spoke to her, her thoughts stumbling over themselves as she began to grasp just what he meant. Despite all the things she'd thought she had done wrong, he still wanted her help. _He was not letting her do this out of pity, but truly needed her._

"Y-you really want my help for this?" She asked at last, part of her hoping against reason that the answer would be different. For a moment her father appeared shocked, his mouth hanging open slightly before he responded.

"Of course! As much as I'd prefer you not to put yourself at risk, I _do_ need you, and I know you can do this."

Ria seemed to draw in on herself for a second, her posture slumping and her eyes falling as if she were suddenly beset by a heavy burden. When she spoke, her voice was unusually quiet.

"This entire mission I've tried to do what you'd have done, to do whatever I can to do what's right, regardless of the risk to myself. But its all been one big disaster."

Her father moved to speak, but whatever he was going to say was buried under an avalanche of self pity. "No matter what I do, Cerberus has been one step ahead of us; while I'm stuck fumbling in the dark. I've had my friends get hurt because I let them follow my lead; with it being a miracle no one has died yet because of me."

He was silent for some time, before her father's intense and surprised gaze melted away to one of understanding. "Tell me." His simply reply caring his intention perfectly.

And so she began recounting everything that had happened over the past month. She told him about Cerberus attack on Horizon and the horrible guilt and shock of taking her first life. She explain the confusion of her frantic race against Cerberus agents on the Citadel to keep the data she had recovered out of their hands, of Garrus aiding her with the gift of a ship and a crew. She told him of Omega, Noveria and the nameless prothean ruins. She recounted to him of all of the small victories, all of the challenges, and all of the failures and setbacks she had faced.

Throughout it all, he remained quiet as he listened to all of her tale. Not once did he give judgement for her actions, or the choices she made, his features remaining the same until the end.

She slumped against a bulkhead as she finished, her voice growing fainter as the weight the past weeks finally came crashing down upon her

. "I've tried my best, and its not good enough. I'm not you dad, I'm not a hero. I can't be like you." Her father's face scrunched up at her words, and he took a second to digest what she'd said; his lips pursing in thought before he replied slowly.

"No, your not me, and you never can be me. That's because you're Ria'Shepard nar Rannoch, whose far braver than Commander Shepard could ever hope to be." Her father smiled reassuringly at her, his projection reaching out a hand to her before he remembered it was just a hologram. "Yes, you've had failures, you've had setbacks, but the Ria I know would never give up that easily. I don't think there's ever been a mission where I haven't felt just how you do right now; the doubt and hopelessness, knowing that everyone is counting on you to do what you aren't even sure is possible." He smiled even deeper as he took a moment to look at her.

"This is the girl who managed to lead a group of kids past security and into the Consort's chambers. The girl who not only had the best teachers for this job, but started out with the will to do it before she even started! Don't ever think you can't do this Ria, because I _**know**_ you can. You're a Shepard, after all."

Slowly she turned her head upward, her eyes meeting his. Part of her wanted to argue, to tell him that he was wrong, to continue wallowing in the almost comforting depths of self pity. But he sounded so confident, so sure in his belief that she could do this, that Ria found it impossible not to somehow not feel the same.

"I-I still don't know if I'm cut out for this, but you're right. I can't just give up now " She said at last, a small, weak smile spreading across her lips. Absently she brought up a arm to wipe at the moisture building at the edge of her vision, only for her hand to deflect off her faceplate. "I'm sorry for breaking down like that. I know, I need to be strong, and, Keelah, I need to be doing my best to be a leader, not crying like a sniveling child."

"Don't apologize, you have nothing to be ashamed for. Sometimes you just need someone to vent out all your doubts and fear to. Keeping that all wrapped up inside will only do more harm in the long run. Believe me, I use to try and keep it all walled up so I could be the invincible leader everyone seemed to need me to be. I was lucky enough to have friends who showed me different." He gave her another warm, reassuring smile as he finished.

"Also, if I ever find myself in a situation where I don't feel like I'm flailing around blindly in the dark, I'll be sure you're the first to know." He added with a smirk. The comment sounded like an afterthought, but it made her let out a soft laugh from behind her helmet.

"Good to know. And thanks Dad."

"Just know that I'm proud of you Ria." He said with a warm comforting smile.

For a time neither of them spoke, a bit of an awkward silence falling between them.

"So..." Ria ventured at last. "I should probably begin preparing for the mission, shouldn't I?"

Her father gave her a small chuckle as he rubbed the back of his neck. "Ya, I should as well. Duty calls, you know. So good Good luck, and I'm counting on you."

"I'll do my best."

He began to turn away, his hand reaching for the button to end the transmission, before he froze to the sound of a door opening somewhere off to the side.

"Who are you talking to?" A familiar voice could be heard through the hologram, and she smiled as her mother moved into view. Her mother's face was uncovered by a mask, and her beaming smile instantly made Ria feel better at the sight of it.

"Ria! Oh, move you big bosh'tet!" She elbowed Shepard lightly in the ribs, evoking a pained hiss and making him turn to get out of the screen. The movement of elbowing her father seemed to have pained her mother as well, as she muttered under her breath in khelish as he moved completely out of view. It wasn't enough to keep her from smiling, however, as she turned back to her with renewed vigor.

"It's so good to see you again! I can't believe your father didn't tell me he was calling!" At the last she shot him a glare which got a incomprehensible mumble in return.

"I'm sure dad didn't mean too." Ria giggled.

"Oh he probably did, knowing him." She spared him one last dirty look before she refocused.

"Well, most of it was just business, so trust me Mom, you didn't miss anything really important."

"Nothing important? How about what my little girl has been doing for the past month or more? I may have accepted that you'd be allowed to put yourself in danger like this, but I want the whole story." From behind her mother, her dad shot her an apologetic look, one which he quickly hid once more before he aroused any suspicion.

Nodding slowly, the young quarian sighed heavily and began, somewhat reluctantly, to recount for the second time that day all that had happened to her over the past few weeks.

**. . . . .**

_5/10/2210_

Ria paced up and down the Invisible's CIC, her whole body tense as she thought about their current destination. It had been nearly a day since her father's call, during which time she had spent preparing her team for the mission ahead. This would be an assault on an enemy stronghold, not be some quick retrieval mission; so she had to be sure all of them would be ready.

"Core, what's our ETA?"

"Three hours, thirty seven minutes, and fourteen seconds until we reach the coordinates Doctor T'Soni provided. This time before our arrival has shortened by exactly the six minutes and fifty one seconds that have elapsed since your last query." She scolded herself mentally but did not answer the machine's unasked question. Instead returning to her pacing and dark thoughts.

_We have no idea what will be there, we have no solid intel on what it is we are even trying to stop, and we have only a handful of operatives to stop it. Nothing to be worried about._

She nearly jumped out of her skin as a hand touched her shoulder. "Worried?"

Spinning around, Ria saw that it was Jalin who had place his hand on her shoulder. The salarian smiled at her reassuringly.

For a moment Ria almost started to deny the overwhelming apprehension and fear she felt, to appear confident and in control, like a leader needed to be. After a moments hesitation, she relented from this course, her shoulders slumping as she replied. "Am I really that obvious?"

"Pacing restlessly tends to give that impression." Jalin replied, leisurely leaning back against the guardrail encircling the galaxy map. "We are still several hours away, would recommend you try to relax a bit. Worrying about what's to come won't do much good, though can say from experience is easier said than done."

"I know I shouldn't worry, but how can I not? I'll be sending my friends into danger."

Jalin looked at her for a while after she spoke, his large lizard-like eyes probing her mask as if he could see right through it to her very soul. After what seemed like minutes the salarian sighed, leaning up against the safety rail with his back to the galaxy map.

"Ria, it occurs to me that this is a conversation you've had before." He had a small smile to show he was teasing, but he didn't look right at her, his eyes were wandering the wall behind her where the elevator sat.

"As a leader you must understand that people dying under your command is inevitable. No leader likes to admit it, but its something that must be dealt with." The salarian began at last, his tone somber. "It may be harsh, but worrying as a leader _if_ people will die is a futile endeavor. If you are a leader long enough, it'll eventually occur."

Ria's gaze fell away from his as the salarian spoke, the thought not an altogether welcome one.

"The best a leader can strive for is making certain that no death comes without purpose, and that no one soldier's existence is thrown away needlessly."

"How can I be sure I'm doing that. What if I make a mistake that gets people killed when they didn't need have to die..." Ria asked somberly, her gaze still on the floor.

"All leaders have made mistakes Ria. Done things they regret or could've done better." The Salarian replied. "No one, no leader, is infallible. Ask you father when you get the chance, will likely be the first to admit that he's made some bad choices, as every leader has. What sets a good leader apart is that they learn from their mistakes, to make sure that they never fail the same way twice." Jalin took a deep intake of breath, closing his eyes for a moment before continuing.

"Is it true that you've made some errors in judgment along this mission? Made a few poor calls or lapses of judgment? Of course, but you've learned from each one, and more importantly, have tried to do better. You haven't given up on doing what's best for your men, a trait few leaders I have met have... do you understand?" Jalin finished with another intake of breath, pausing before adding at the end almost as an afterthought.

"I think so... and thank you." Ria nodded slowly.

Jalin tilted his head in acceptance of her words."This lesson, the distinction between a needless death and a necessary loss, is one I been taught early in my career, and served me well since."

"When'd you figure it out?" Ria asked, her curiosity peaked, not to mention a bit desperate to find something to draw her mind away from the battle looming closer by the minute.

"It was my fourth or fifth major assignment, can't remember which, and was serving under a captain who was somewhat notorious throughout the STG for his somewhat harsher methods." He began, his gaze drawing away from her to stare at something far distant.

"I'd seen this first hand on the team's previous assignment, where he'd unflinchingly sacrificed two of the team to destroy critical components in an illegal chemical weapons plant we were tasked with disabling." The salarian explained, his large black eyes blinking as his gaze seemed to jolt back to the present and away from remote memories. "It was for this reason that when we were assigned to a mission to capture and extract an high-ranking enemy official from a heavily fortified position, I'd expected him to carry out the order without hesitation."

"I take it that's not what happened then." Ria replied simply, crossing her arms in front of her as she spoke.

"No, it was not. The mission was on a strict timetable, but we had been allotted thirteen hours for reconnaissance before moving in on the target. However, after those thirteen hour were up, the captain didn't move in as planned, instead sending a request to command to allow us to either wait for reinforcements or be allowed to have more time to recon the enemy defenses."

The salarian shook his head as if at some memory, a humorless smile cracking his lips. "He'd explained that the enemy was too well fortified and we had too little intel; and if we moved then the diversion team would certainly take heavy losses. He was right too, we had too few in number to take on the numbers and secure fortifications the enemy possessed. There was no possibility of extracting the target without suffering unacceptable losses. Even so, command denied the captain's request and ordered him to continue with the original mission parameters."

"What happened? What'd he do?" Ria asked.

"He refused to carry out the orders. For this insubordination he was severely reprimanded, demoted, and dishonorably discharged from active service in the Special Tasks Group."

"I assume you agreed with his choice."

"No, quite the contrary." Jalin replied, his answer enticing a surprised look from the young quarian. "I was livid, called him a coward amongst worse insults."

The salarian gave her a wry smile as he continued. "Did that answer surprise you?"

"...Well, yes. It just, didn't..."

"Didn't seem like something I'd do? Now, I suppose not. I was young then, and in my inexperience had thought the captain had taken the coward's way out, had believed that it was one's duty as a soldier to give one's life, and a leader to order them to do so, when called on."

He sighed, his smile fading once more into a more solemn one. "I couldn't understand why someone who had never shied away from sacrifices necessary in conflict would go soft now. I had never considered the distinction between a needed sacrifice and a foolish one. Fortunately my tirade against my captain after the decision was made inevitably led to deep introspection and examination of this very idea."

"I assume he explained why he he'd made his choice?"

"No, not in the slightest. I'd tried to strike at him when he didn't respond, so he kicked me in the chest, breaking several ribs that left me out of active service for a few weeks. That gave me plentiful time and adequate boredom to re-examine my stance on the matter." Jalin answered.

"Young Jalin sounds like he was a bit of a hothead" Ria chuckled, smiling behind her forest green mask for the first time that day.

"Indeed he was." Jalin laughed deeply in response. "It is fortunate that I grew past that more unrefined period given time."

Ria blinked, wetness forming at the edge of her vision from her merriment. "I don't know what I'd do if i hadn't had your guidance all along the way. Probably just fumble blindly."

"No, you would've done just as you have. I've only played a small role. What we've accomplished belongs more to your deeds than mine." Jalin said with a shake of his head, a small smile cracked his lips as an unidentifiable emotion glittered behind his large, black eyes.

"Whatever happens today, know it has been an honor." He snapped a hand up into a quick salute, standing at attention before her. With that he turned and began to depart, only to halt at the last minute to turn and look back at her. "Oh, and do try to relax, Ria. You'll need to be at your best when the time comes, and worrying about it won't help accomplish that."

"I'll try." Ria dipped her head in affirmation as the salarian departed from the CIC, leaving her alone once more. With a sigh, she stepped back up to the podium in the center of the deck. After a moments though she retrieved the small metallic sphere that formed the core of her combat drone from an inner pocket of her suit. Activating her omni-tool she began making micro-adjustments to the drone's inner workings, the meticulous task soon carrying her mind away from her growing worry and dread, as it had done in the many long days spent in the peaceful home that now seemed lifetimes away..

* * *

**Glossery**

**keela'kastet:** A quarian curse most closely translated as to "_homeworld forsaken"_; its closest parallel to human speech being "goddamned"

* * *

**Author's Note:** Sorry about this chapter being a week late, but after coming down with a bad cold that lasted most of last week I found it impossible to write. I honestly feel really bad about not meeting the deadline I set for myself and for keeping you guys waiting, but my imminue system failed me. Maybe I should just consider getting a quarian environsuit or something.

Anyhow , hope you guys like this chapter, as its one I have been planning for a long time. As always, please comment, review, and/or give constructive criticism you may have, and see you next time.


	31. Chapter 31: Assault

5/10/2210

"Creator-Shepard, the Invisible just exited out to sub FTL velocities. Stealth drives are engaged as we approach Cerberus station." Core's announcement snapped Ria's attention away from the galaxy map. No sooner had the geth spoke, she felt the deck shift almost imperceptibly beneath her feet as the vessel smoothly dropped to under light speeds.

"Good." Ria replied, struggling to sound calm as her heart pounded in her chest. She stared at the galaxy map before her, absently checking the already almost painfully tight straps of her armor.

"What's the status from my dad- uh, from the Normandy?" Ria asked, correcting herself mid sentence. Now was not the time to dwell on her parents' role in the attack, nor at the nagging worries about their safety beginning the gnaw at the edge of her consciousness.

"The Normandy has relayed that they are moving into position. Once they are situated in the correct coordinates over Volkh, they will commence with the Mako drop onto the planet's surface approximately five minutes before our attack run begins."

Ria nodded, tapping a slim finger against the terminal before her. "What's our ETA before we reach the station?"

"Approximately Sixteen minutes and fifty seven seconds." Core answered, Ria distantly noting the almost hasty rate of speech compared to how the geth normally sounded.

"Ground team ready?"

"Affirmative. All teammates have completed assigned mission preparation." Core's reply came swiftly.

"Good, relay the order for them to meet in the hanger within the next five minutes." Ria replied, stepping jerkingly down from the podium at the center of the CIC and turning towards the elevator."

"Lieutenant Kalerihn, Corporal-Alenko, and this unit's mobile platform are already there and waiting." The geth replied as she entered the elevator.

"I guess I'll see you in person in a minute then." Ria said, tapping the holographic controls off to the left.

"The bulk of our programming is located within the Invisible itself: as a subsequent result we are technically always conversing 'in person' when you are within this vessel." Core corrected as the elevator doors shut, his disembodied voice shifting from overhead speakers on the main deck to ones within the lift. "However, we understand your intentions despite the factual incorrectness of the verbal gesture, and our social interaction subroutines indicates that the proper response for us is to convey that 'we will see you there'."

"Thanks Core, you too." Ria sighed with a roll of her eyes.

Moments later the elevator doors slid open with a chime, allowing her to pass through them and out into the hanger beyond. Across the way she caught sight of the three members of her team the geth had announced would already be there. Laura was going over her weapons and equipment with mechanical efficiency in a last minute inspection while she waited, while Jalin milled around just inside the shuttle, stowing equipment and weapons into place. Core's 'mobile platform' stood motionless next to the Kodiak Shuttle.

Even as she hurried over to where they stood, Ria noticed that Kel has just entered the hangar as well, the young quarian fidgeting nervously with the bulky gray bracers that housed his new biotic amps as he came from the doorway just from her left that led to engineering.

Turning away, the sound of faint hissing as a door opened off to the other side of the room caught Ria's attention. Looking in the direction of the noise, she saw Daron striding in from his makeshift room within the port cargo bay. The mercenary was clad head to toe in his jet black armor he always wore, the lightweight armored plate gleaming as if newly polished.

"Any particular reason you decided to make your armor _more _visible?" Laura scoffed, looking up from her assault rifle.

Daron shot the soldier a deathly cold glare as he moved into position next to the others. "I'm on distraction duty, if you care remember. Drawing attention to myself is the point."

"Damn, take a joke, will ya." Laura muttered under her breath, enticing another glare from the biotic.

"Knock it off you two, and act like adults." Ria scolded, checking the time before turning her attention back to the elevator. Her foot hammered in a rapid series of taps against the floor as she stared at the lift as if it would somehow will the final member of their team to arrive. _Dammit Tarran, we've only got a few minutes before we need to move._

Just then a ding echoed the chamber as Tarran exited the lift, the turian hurrying towards them.

"Sorry I'm late, had to make some last minute modifications to this baby." Tarran explained, hoisting the prothean made heavy weapon he had been tinkering with for the past week. "Just be glad that I'm not my father, else I'd probably say something about how I was 'in the middle of some calibrations' or something of that nature."

Ria raised an eyebrow from behind her helmet, the smallest hint of a smile creeping into her voice for just a second. "Really? I always figured my parents were over exaggerating with the whole 'calibrations' thing."

"Trust me, you didn't grow up with him." Tarran replied dryly, reaching into the shuttle to store the particle rifle he was holding in a compartment over one of the seats.

"I'll take your word for it." Ria replied, her apprehension returning just quickly as it had fled in the face of her friend's joke. Wordlessly she motioned for her team to get situated inside the shuttle, a handful of minutes passing as they stowed the rest of their gear.

"Core, what's out ETA?" Ria asked as they finished, moving to stand next to the open hatch at one side of the shuttle while the rest of her team either took a seat or moved to stand across from her.

"Six minutes and counting." The geth replied.

Nodding Ria said nothing, staring off into space for a handful of heartbeats. At last, yanking a long, labored breath, she steeled her nerves to speak. "Okay, lets go over the plan one more time." Ria tapped her omni-tool, displaying an holographic image of the exterior of the base for all to see. "As soon as we are given the signer, the Invisible is going to drop us outside and proceed ahead of the shuttle to grab the attention of the fighters. With luck, that will keep them off us long enough to get inside one of the hangers here." She gestured at the location in question, which flashed brightly in response to her indication.

"One inside we break off into two teams, with Laura, Kel, and myself being team Alpha. We will fight our way to the labs and with luck retrieve the code-breaking software stolen from Noveria." Ria continued, looking between her assembled team as they spoke."While we don't know exactly what the layout will be like, we have a good idea thanks to Core compiling an estimation based on all past known Cerberus stations."

"It is fortunate in regard to our endeavor that most Cerberus stations employ convergent designs. It would be an improbable occurrence to see a large deviation in structural layout compared to archived examples." Core elaborated, his glowing optic flaring brighter as he spoke.

"Exactly, so we should have a good idea of the general area we will be going. Hopefully we will be able to get there before Cerberus has the time to regroup." Ria finished, tapping another location on the display, a bright line flaring to life and burning its way from the hangar bay towards the heart of the station. "In the meantime, Tarran will be leading team Beta, which will include Daron and Core. Their job is to 'fight' their way towards the center of the station to draw as much attention as they can muster. Your job is not to make any real progress, but rather to cause as much noise and chaos as possible to draw attention away from Alpha and to yourselves."

Both Daron and Tarran nodded in affirmation of her orders."There's a reason I decided to quite literally bring in the big guns on this one." Tarran quipped dryly, gesturing at the weapon stored just above his head.

"That's why you were chosen. Between you, Daron's biotics, and Core's geth turrets; I don't think it will be hard to grab their undivided attention, for at least a little while."

Ria tapped a finger idly against a support-rail running along one wall of the shuttle before continuing. "Lastly will be Jalin, whose job is to make his way alone to the ship's reactor. We simply don't have the numbers or the firepower to handle Cerberus should they manage to regroup, so his job is to cut off power from all non-critical systems to shut down their defenses and ability to respond to our little strike force."

"Understood, as said before, such operation was routine occurrence within STG. Should have little difficulty." Jalin replied, rubbing his chin thoughtfully as he peered at the holographic display.

Silence fell over her team once more as no one ventured to speak. Glancing between each member of her team, Ria distantly noted how each seemed to be reacting to the danger ahead quite differently from one another, yet somehow the same. Laura sat with her head downward, her eyes focused on the combat knife she was in the middle of honing. Daron and Jalin both sat almost entirely motionless, the two most experienced members of her team wearing the same dower expressions as the others but lacking the nervous movements.

Meanwhile Tarran had moved into the pilot's seat of the shuttle, and was idly fiddling with the controls; while Kel had resumed tinkering nervously with the his new biotic amps as he had done earlier.

Of course, Core showed no signs of apprehension, the geth standing as utterly motionless as he had before.

"One minute and counting." Core announced, breaking the silence.

Nodding, Ria reached over and shut the hatch leading to the rest of the hanger bay. "Core get ready to open the hanger once we're ready. Tarran, start her up."

The kodiak's thrusters roared to life an instant later, the shuttle humming faintly. Ria gripped the support rail tightly as she leaned against it in anticipation.

After what seemed like both just a matter of seconds and yet also an eternity Core spoke again. "It is time." The geth informing them, oddly lacking the verbose over explanation of his normal speech.

Nodding slowly, Ria straightened, her eyes staring dead ahead at the shuttle's view screen. Swallowing the lump of fear and apprehension forming in her throat, she gave the command to begin with a single hoarse word. "Go."

With a lurch the shuttle lifted off and shot out of the hanger, darting for the faintly visible silhouette of the Cerberus station against the massive brown dwarf. Eyes locked on the view screen, Ria watched the Invisible zoomed overhead, shooting past the shuttle, appearing little more than a sleek shadow against the void of space.

"Scanners picking up a dozen fighters being deployed." Core announced. On the display screen, dual streaks of blue light shot out from under the ship's wings towards the growing black specs darting out from the station. The javelin torpedo released by the ship connected with two of the specks, detonating in bright flashes of light.

"Two hostiles down." Core confirmed as the Invisible turned and sped off at and angle, the remaining fighters quickly changing course to chase after the ship.

_Its actually working_, Ria thought as she gazed at the display with a smile. Her elation was short lived as she watched two of the fighters break off from the rest, making a straight line for the shuttle.

"It appears that Cerberus has taken notice of our shuttle's presence." Core noted, somehow seeming completely unperturbed at this occurrence. "Officer-Vakarian, we recommend evasive action."

"Why thanks Core, I never would have thought to try that." Tarran growled sarcastically.

"Less talk, more dodging!" Ria yelped. eyes wide as she stared at the screen.

"Sound like a plan." Tarran replied with an uneven grin, the shuttle lurching as it accelerated forward. A stream of red light released by one of the fighters shot forward, cutting a burning red light in the darkness of space. At the last second, Tarran wrenched the controls to the side, the shuttle banking suddenly to the side as the projectile zoomed past by a mere yard's distance.

"You call that evasive maneuvers?!" Ria asked, heart hammering.

"Would you rather fly this thing? If not, back seat piloting is not helping." Tarran retorted, the shuttle driving low to avoid another projectile. The two fighters had continued on their path towards them, drawing frighteningly closer by the minute. "Core, give me a firing solution for one of those fighters."

"Acknowledged... task complete." Core replied.

"Good, fire on my mark...mark!" The turian ordered.

Two blue-green blobs of light shot out from under the shuttle, one connecting with the lead fighter a second before the other struck the one in the back, both ships vanishing in expanding clouds of light and derbies.

"See, no problem." Tarran grinned as the shuttle continued to draw closer to their destination unmolested. No sooner had the words left the turian's mouth than the space before them suddenly blossomed with streaks of red light as several anti-ship turrets mounted on the outside of the station began firing upon the Kodiak.

"Oh sure, no problem!" Ria shouted, steadying herself as the shuttle jerked from Tarran's sharp bank to the left to avoid the incoming fire.

"Core, ready the other set of missiles." Tarran shouted, ignoring Ria for the moment as he fought with the controls with frantic movements as the Kodiak lurched and rolled in an endless succession of evasive maneuvers. The view screen was alight with explosions as anti-ship turrets tore into the space around the shuttle, some missing the vehicle by only a hair's breath.

"Missiles armed." Core announced a moment later.

Nodding, Tarran leveled the shuttle out, gunning the throttle as they accelerated towards their destination. The shuttle shook as a shot grazed it's hull, but still the turian kept them on their course, heedless of the converging heavy armament fire.

"Sensors indicate a large number of Cerberus soldiers are gathering in the hanger. It is likely they have anticipated our stratagem." Core warned, speaking up as they were but seconds away.

"Then lets give them a little present first. Fire the missiles." Tarran grinned.

Another volley of two missiles arced out from under the shuttle, and streaked into the open hangar, detonating in two brilliant flashes of sapphire light.

Violently yanking back the throttle at the last possible minute, the shuttle began to decelerate just before they reached the hanger's entrance. Even with this, the shuttle was still moving at high velocities when they passed inside. "Hang on, this isn't going to be a very soft landing!"

Ria only had a second to grab hold of the support rail before the shuttle shook violently as it touched down against the hanger's floor, the transport's momentum carrying it forward in a screeching slide.

Outside, bullets ricocheted off the shuttle as it slid to a grinding halt. Steadying herself against a wall as the vehicle shook before falling still, Ria snatched up her father's rifle. "Everyone, move now! Kel, Daron, give us some cover!" She ordered, bashing a fist into the control panel next to the shuttle's hatch.

With a clang the kodiak's hatch was thrown open, exposing them to the chaos beyond. Scattered fires raged from where the shuttle's missile had impacted fuel cells, casting a faint orange glow over the two dozen or more Cerberus soldiers scrambling for cover. Those that had reacted first to the Kodiak's entrance unleashed torrents of gunfire that traced red hot trails of light towards the transport, leaving smoking dents where they struck the armor plating.

Springing forwards as shots buzzed past inches away or deflected off their shields, Kel and Daron leapt out of the shuttle, both biotics aglow with azure light. As his feet touched the floor, Daron thrust both hands before him, unleashing a biotic shockwave that tore two soldiers from their feet and sent them careening back. An instant later Kel raised both hands before him with palms outward, forming a half dome of shimmering dark energy around them.

"Hurry... can't hold this for long." Kel breathed in a strained voice as dozens of rounds impacted the shield from all sides, which shimmered faintly from each hit.

Ria was already moving, having charged forwards the instant the shield had formed. Leaping out of the shuttle, she strode forward with Laura following only a step behind. Together they strode through the barrier and opened fire; each dropping a soldier under the controlled barrage of fire.

Daron stepped through the biotic sphere to follow after them an instant, his paladin pistol barking as he emptied the clip into a Cerberus trooper. Even as the man fell with four holes in his chest, the mercenary grabbed ahold of another foe with his biotics and threw him back into one of his compatriots in a tangled heap.

There was a echoing bang behind her as Tarran entered the fray, a Cerberus Centurion's head disappearing in a spray of crimson.

"Don't let up!" Ria shouted, firing off a burst that shattered a man's shields before an belch of controlled fire from Laura finished him off. "Kel, watch out six, make sure they don't flank us. Tarran, focus on those in cover, see if you can't pick them off if they try to retaliate. Jalin, try and flank them if you can. Laura, Core, and Daron, with me!"

Continuing forward, Ria and Laura continued their assault, picking off more of the disorganized and confused defense Cerberus as yet mustered against them. A moment later she heard a fizzling crackle like a firecracker going off as Jalin vanished in a flash of blue light, re-appearing in a detonation of biotic energy on the battlements at the far end of the hanger revealing a duo of Cerberus snipers, staggering them.

Before Ria could see what happened next, there was an crack like thunder as a nemesis shot at her. The round fired from high powered sniper rifle impacted her shoulder, shattering her shields and wrenching her shoulder back as she staggered back a step.

Before the sniper could line up another shot to finish her off, Tarran came to her aid. A well placed shot from his own rifle caught the nemesis dead center in the chest. While this bought her a precious second, Ria could see that some of the remaining Cerberus had realized that she was the leader of her group, and were now all turning their attention to her, and while the nemesis' assault had done little damage other than draining her shields, it left her helpless to the combined assault that was about to fall.

Things might have gone ill for her then, if not for Core leaping in front of her just as three soldiers opened fire. The geth's shields flared as the barrage of mass accelerator rounds deflected off his kinetic barriers as he shielded her from the attack.

His own defenses draining quickly, Core pointed his omni-tool at one of the attackers. "Draining enemy shield reserve." Core stated calmly as his omni-tool flared brightly, his targets shields vanishing in a stream of faint blue energy that flowed into the geth. Raising his shotgun, Core fired a cluster of burning plasma that sent a now shieldless centurion falling back, the front of his armor a smoking and melted wreck.

Nodding in thanks, Ria waited another instant for her shields to finish recharging before she stepped to the side, opening fire at one of the two remaining soldiers who had attacked her even as the geth dropped the other.

Finding a moment to catch her breath, Ria surveyed the battlefield before her. At this point most of the remaining soldiers had been dealt with, only a handful remaining scattered around the battlefield. Charging forward once more, she fired into the backs of a Centurion that had rushed at Tarran in desperation, dropping his shields so that the turian could finish him off with a single shot to the stomach.

Spinning, Ria joined in with Laura and Kel to gun down a trooper with their combined fire, while Core overloaded another's shields allowing Daron to finish him off with a concussive blast of biotic energy.

Seeing no other immediate targets, Ria glanced upwards just in time to see Jalin finish off the last sniper situated on top of the balcony looking over the hanger with a point blank shotgun blast.

Ria began taking advantage of the brief reprieve from combat; barking out orders."All right, everyone we need to get moving before more Cerberus arrive. Team Alpha form up with me and get ready to move on my mark. Beta, as soon as Alpha moves it'll be time for you to make some noise. Jalin, get going now while you have the chance."

Nodding in affirmation to her orders, Jalin turned and jogged over to stand beneath a ventilation shaft a few yards off. The grate covering the vent glowed with azure energy for a split second before he tore it from its hinges with his biotic, the now distorted and warped metal landing with a clang where it was flung off to the side. Deftly, the salarian scampered up into the vent and soon vanished from sight.

"Creator-Shepard, we have gained minimal access to Cerberus systems. While we are unable to shut down their defenses, we have gleaned some useful data." Core announced. "Of note, we have knowledge of the base's layout. Transferring data now."

Activating her omni-tool, Ria examined the updated map the geth had sent her. "Good work, looks like its more or less a clear path to the labs from this side passage. Alright team Alpha, lets move."

No sooner had she spoken those words than the sound of heavy footsteps and far off shouts caught her attention, the racket drawing closer from down the main hallway.

Before Ria could managed to bark at orders, Tarran beat her to the punch; the turian shouting in the direction of Core and Daron as he turned in the direction of the incoming foes. "Daron, Core, form up at either side of those doors. Core place your turrets in the center behind us. Daron, concentrate on hitting groups of enemies only, me and Core will focus on isolated targets."

Tarran turned, glancing back over his shoulder to look back at her for a brief second. "You better get moving now before they arrive, don't want to get spotted and ruin the whole plan."

"Right." Ria nodded. Turning away, Ria shouted for Laura and Kel to follow her before and, without even a backwards glance, set off in the direction of the labs.

**. . . . .**

"Intruders, stop them!" A Cerberus soldier shouted as Ria darted into sight from around a corner into the intercepting hallways. Even as the four troopers barring the door at the far end frantically raised their weapons, she loosed the flashbang grenade she held, which landed with a clatter at their feet.

Sprinting across the distance to the opposite corner as shots whizzed past her head, she made it to cover just as a flash of blinding light and deafening crack filled the hallway, followed by cries of surprise and pain from the four men.

Without missing a beat, Ria darted back around the corner even as Laura rounded the one opposite of her and in unison the two opened fire. The first two bursts of her vindicator shattered one of the soldier's shields, before the third tore into his throat. At the same time another fell as a torrent of rounds from Laura's avenger tore through his armor like tissue paper, sending the man falling into a growing pool of his own blood.

The last two troopers had just started to recover, sluggishly raising their weapons to fire back. One only got off a single frantic burst of his harrier that barely chipped away at Ria's shields before he was thrown back and slammed against the wall by a biotic push from Kel. The last Cerberus foot-soldier was lucky enough to get off a single additional burst before the three combined their fire on him, the sound of two assault rifles opening fire and a shotgun blast signaling the end of his life.

"Kel, get that door open, we'll cover you." Ria ordered, sprinting the short distance to the closed doorway before spinning around to keep her rifle trained the way she had come.

"Got it." Kel replied, crouching down next to the control panel and activating his omni-tool.

It was a less than eventful minute before the door yielded to Kel's hacking attempts, sliding open to reveal yet another featureless corridor stretching before them.

"Geez, more bland, empty hallways. just what I always wanted." Laura muttered, hoisting her weapon as they set off down the path before them. "Would it kill Cerberus to hire an interior decorator?"

"I bet they left it like this on purpose to bore to death anyone trying to take over the base." Ria quipped with a wide grin behind her helmet. "Its a cunning strategy, if you think about it."

Laura gave her an explosive sigh from between her heavy breathing.

No more Cerberus agents appeared to challenge their progress as they zoomed down the hallway, the end coming quickly into sight. Before them was a closed elevator that according to the schematics Core was streaming to her omni-tool was the way down to the labs. The panel next to the lift glowed a harsh red, locked down to prevent unauthorized access.

"Kel, get the elevator!" Ria ordered as she came to a half, skidding the last foot across the smooth, polished surface. Turning to watch the way they had come, she activated her suit's comms. "Tarran, what's your status?"

The sounds of gunfire greeted her ears as the comms opened, the steady cacophony occasionally broken by a distant cry of pain. It took another second before Tarran finally replied. "_So far so good, seems almost like we have half the station to handle down here. Which, going by our plan, actually indicates that things are going right for once."_

"Are you three going to be able to handle it?" Ria asked, concern growing as the sound of a distant explosion reverberated across the channel.

"_We'll hold. Cerberus hasn't managed more than barely scratch the surface of our armor."_ Tarran replied, a cocky grin filling his voice. "_They probably would have better luck if they were bright enough to run at us all at once instead of hitting us in waves, but I'm not going to complain about __their incompetence."_

"Understood, though fall back if things get too hot. Your job is to keep their attention, not hold that position." Ria ordered, stepping into the open elevator behind her, which Kel had succeeded in overriding moments ago.

"_Roger that, Tarran out." _The turian replied, the distant sounds of battle falling silent as the comm channel closed.

Waiting until Kel and Laura were inside, Ria jabbed at the control panel. The door slid shut and with a lurch the elevator shot downward, descending almost a dozen levels in a matter of seconds. Before they knew it the lift slowed to a stop, the gates sliding open once more with a soft ding.

"You know, I really don't get why our parents keep complaining about how "no one in the damned galaxy can make a elevator that goes at a decent speed" all the goddamned time." Laura noted in a low voice as she stepped out of the elevator, her eyes scanning for hostiles.

Ria gave her a low _mhmm_ in agreement, her own eyes searching for any sign of Cerberus soldiers laying in wait to ambush them. Seeing none, Ria slowly lowered her weapon

"Okay, we're making good progress. With luck we won't have too much trouble getting-" Ria started to say, only to be cut off by a blaring warning siren that sounded from somewhere overhead.

"_Warning! Warning! Unauthorized personal detected in research labs. Activating automated defenses."_

"...Or not. Go!" Ria finished, waving them forward as quickly as may be. They only made it couple of steps before a hatch, just beyond where the hallway opened into a larger room, popped open with a clang. A massive automated turret dropped down to hang from the opening with a grinding whirl of gears; the turret began spinning up to as it took aim at them.

With only a second to react, Ria's eyes frantically searched the area around them. The hallway was completely smooth, with the nearest alcove that could provide cover being a twenty or more yards away.

The turret opened fire, rounds tearing through the air. Ria snapped her eyes shut, not wanting to see the end come...

A second later she opened them again, the burst of pain before death failing to come as expected. A shimmering blue barrier stood a foot in front of her, stopping the storm of incoming rounds in their tracks. Glancing back she saw Kel was kneeling with both arms outstretched towards the shield, the once dim lights on his armored bracers glowing a brilliant orange as biotics danced around him.

Thinking quickly Ria activated her omni-tool, her fingers on her right hand dancing away at the holographic buttons that appeared. "I'm going to try and hack it, buy us some time! Kel, I need you to hold as long as you can!"

"Hurry." Kel squeaked in reply, his voice strained as he struggled to maintain the barrier.

Frantically, Ria activated and ran several of the numerous hacking protocols stored on her omni-tool, some she had programmed herself. At last, as the biotic wall before her began to flicker dangerously, the turret suddenly ceased firing as one of the programs wormed its way into the system and wrenched control over the automated gun.

It wasn't a moment too soon soon, Kel's barrier fading away an instant later. The quarian slumped, falling to all fours as he gasped for breath.

Glancing at her omni-tool Ria saw that her control over the gun was already being overwritten, the weapon's systems already working to bypass her hacking attempt. "We don't have much time, go!" Ria shouted, sprinting off down the hallways.

Besides her Laura scooped up an utterly drained Kel, slipping an arm under his to support his weight as they hurried down the hallways as fast as their feet could carry them.

They had almost made it to the end when the hack failed, the turret spinning up to fire once more. Fortunately for them, they had just made it to the point where the always dipped in slightly to form a choke point, providing barely over a foot and a half of cover jutting out on either side of the wall.

Diving to one side while Laura pulled herself and Kel behind the safe space on the other side, the three managed to get out of the way moments before rounds tore through the space they had stood seconds before. The storm of fire rained down the hallway for several seconds before slowing to a stop.

"You think you can hack it again?" Laura called out, slowly inching her head around the corner to glance at the turret before quickly ducking back into cover before it could fire again.

"I don't know, maybe" Ria replied, shrugging her shoulders before adding. "Well, yes, probably, though I'd probably take far too long. My hack was overwritten much faster than it should, and the only explanation I have is that Cerberus must have a really advanced VI or possibly even an AI. If I'm right, it will be actively trying to keep me locked out now."

"Right, looks like plan B then." Laura frowned in response, pausing before continuing. "That turret took about three or four seconds to start firing after it detected us. I spotted three more of this choke points between us and room beyond, each about a yard or two apart at the most. Its risky, but if we time it right I think we can do it."

"I don't like it, but we don't have much of a choice. Beats sitting her and waiting for more Cerberus troops to arrive at any rate." She replied, her fingers tightening on her weapon as her body tensed in anticipation for thee desperate plan of action. "Kel, how you holding up? You think you have enough energy left to do it?"

"Y-ya, I think so." The quarian biotic replied, his wavering voice solidifying with each word as he seemed to regain a bit of the strength spent in the biotic shield.

Nodding, Ria turned her attention back to the hallway, inching cautiously forward in an attempt to catch a glimpse of the next spot of cover. "Alright, we move on three. One... two... THREE!"

Without looking back she leapt from cover, diving into a roll towards the next safe position a few yards ahead. The turret opened fire barely more than two seconds later, tearing into the empty hallway the instant she made it back behind cover.

Seeing that the others had made it unharmed, Ria wasted no time in pushing forward again, making her way swiftly through the hallway. Soon coming up to the end of the hallway, the trio stopped, with no clear cover ahead. There was no nearby cover beyond.

"Dammit, what now?" Ria growled.

"I think I saw a barricades off to either side right before the turret, but they looked far off!" Laura shouted back.

"How far?"

"About twenty-five, maybe thirty feet in a straight line!"

"_Det kazuat!_" Ria swore, frowning behind her mask. Considering all her options, all of which looked ill.

"I-I can go first and draw its fire." Kel replied, speaking up before Ria could make a decision. "I'm not sure if I can create another shield to block it, but I can boost my shields. That plus my tech armor might be enough to survive long enough to reach one of the barricades."

"I don't like it, its too risky!" Laura replied, her brow furrowing.

"I don't either, but I don't think we have much of a choice." Ria replied hesitantly. "If you think you can do it Kel, go for it!"

Nodding the quarian biotic crouched low, preparing to spring forward at a moments notice. "You ready?"

"Ready." Ria and Laura replied in unison.

"Go." Kel said hoarsely as he sprinted out of cover, his shields glowing a shimmering white as their output doubled in strength.

Waiting two agonizingly slow seconds, Ria leapt out of cover after him, running as fast as her body physically allowed towards the other barricade. She heard gunfire fill the room as she ran, lines of fiery projectiles arcing towards the other quarian. Out of the corner of her eyes she saw some of the rounds tear into Kel's shields right as he dived into cover.

Unable to stop and see if he made it or not, Ria threw herself into a dive that brought her crashing to the ground behind the barricade. Pushing herself up into a low crouch, Ria saw that Laura had made it as well, the human woman sitting with her back against the cover.

Spinning, she turned her attention to Kel, who lay curled behind the other barricade "Kel, you alright?"

A long, dread filled moment passed before relief filled her as Kel answered, slowly lifting himself off the ground.. "I-I'm alright. My shields broke right before I made it, but my tech armor kept me alive."

Ria noticed a bloody spot on his arm, the quarian wincing as he moved. "You're hit." She replied.

"I-I'm f-fine. Not the first time I was shot." Kel replied, his voice wavering with pain. "I can deal w-with it m-my self. Just d-deal with that thing."

Nodding, Ria grabbed two arc-grenades from her belt as Laura withdrew two of her own fragmentation grenades. Nodding wordlessly, Ria spun, arming both grenades as she turned and flung them at the turret. The grenades discharged in a crack of electricity as they struck the turret, sparks dancing around it as the barriers protecting it failed. An instant later Laura's grenades connected, detonating in two thunderous bangs that ripped the turret apart, which fell from the ceiling with a crash to lay in a smoking heap.

Rushing over to where Kel sat against the barricade, Ria knelt at his side. "How bad is it?"

"Its not bad, it missed the bone." The small quarian replied, his voice steadier than before. "I've injected medi-gel, sealed the suit rupture, and taken some antibiotics"

Nodding, Ria pulled Kel to his feet. "I appreciate the risk you took Kel."

"Agreed, that was damned brave." Laura nodded in agreement.

For a moment Ria swore that she could see the other quarian blushing behind his mask at the human's compliment. Ignoring that thought for now, Ria turned her attention back to the mission at hand. "Come on, I'd imagine that if Cerberus hasn't already moved to fortify the way forward they soon will be."

"Am I the only one who finds it amusing that so far a goddamned turret has been a bigger threat than Cerberus' soldiers?" Laura asked a moment later as they started forward once more.

"Hopefully that's the worst we run into." Ria noted, falling into a steady, but cautious pace. "For once things are going our way, and I plan to keep it that way."

**. . . . .**

Jalin slid smoothly out of the vent, dropping down onto the floor behind two Cerberus soldiers with a soft _tap_ as his feet touched the ground. Before either had a chance to react Jalin stabbed a knife into the gap between the left soldier's helmet and armor while simultaneously putting his pistol to the back of the right soldier's head and pulling the trigger.

A muted bang echoed the hallway as the two soldiers slumped unceremoniously to the floor. Stepping over their limp bodies, the salarian padded silently over to the door across from where the two has stood guard. Activating his omni-tool, Jalin rested a hand over the control panel as the bypass program he had booted up began to work. Seconds ticked by before the panel finally flashed green a second, the doors slid open an moment after.

Cautiously ducking around the corner to look inside, Jalin saw that the reactor core beyond was completely devoid of signs of light, the only sound the ever present humming of the huge element zero powered generator at the dead center of the room.

Despite the lack of any apparent danger, Jalin entered the room with slow deliberate movements that each carried the utmost caution. He knew too well from experience that not seeing ant danger and actual safety were often two completely different things.

Making his way over to a terminal facing the generator, and no ambush springing upon him, Jalin activated his comms. "Ria, I've reach the power generator for the station. What are your orders?"

It took a few seconds before the quarian's voice replied over the secure channel. _"See if you can get into the system but don't do anything yet. Wait until me and team Alpha reach the labs, we're almost there now."_

"Understood, have any trouble so far?" Jalin asked as he activated the terminal, its holographic display flaring to light at his touch.

"_None to speak of, things have been surprising smooth so far."_ Ria replied, falling silent for several moments before adding- _"I'll signet you when its time, let me know if anything comes up."_

"Reformative" Jalin replied as the channel fell silent once more. As he worked on worming his way into Cerberus's computer systems, Jalin found what Ria had said regarding their progress oddly sticking with him. The more he thought about it, the more it seemed odd that everything had been going so smoothly. Sure, they had met heavy resistance coming it, but not as much as he had expected.

_Maybe Cerberus was caught more off-guard by our attack than we anticipated or as well defended as we suspected. _Jalin thought to himself. _It might be nothing but why do I have a bad feeling about this._

* * *

**Authors Note:** Sorry about the delay on this chapter, FF was derping out and wouldn't let me post it until this morning. Anyways, after the end of next week I will be officially on summer break for the next thirteen weeks. As such I shall be attempting to return to my old schedule of one chapter a week following the release of the next chapter (#32) on Jun 22. However, I am a bit concerned that due to the much long length of my more recent chapters compared to when I started the fic, I will be unable to actually meet a once a week deadline. If this ends up being the case, I will instead try to post a chapter every 9-10 days so that I am still putting them out faster than when I was at school. Anyhow, just thought I'd share my plans. Cheers.


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